Well, April’s pretty much over, and I won’t lie: it wasn’t the month I was hoping for. But hey – they can’t all be winners, remember? In a lot of ways, I had to give up to set myself up for future success – and I honestly think I’ve done an incredible job of that over the past few weeks. I won’t lie: I had to un-mindfuck myself before I could get back in the groove.

Now, in my case, I wasn’t dealing with bad days in the gym – I was dealing with some bad news in my career. But stress is stress, and your body and your mind largely don’t care whether the source of your stress is mental or physical. I went into this in a lot more detail when I explained why your meet prep sucks, so I won’t rehash all that here. Instead, I’m going to offer a few more practical suggestions on how to pull your head out of your ass when you’re feeling caught up in the stress circle.

Fake It Till You Make It

Look, sometimes you’re not gonna feel it – regardless of what “it” is. Regardless of how strongly you feel motivated at any given time, you can still practice discipline and force yourself to go through the motions with a big fucking smile on your face. Eventually, you will rediscover the motivation that you know is part of who you are, but it’s going to come a lot faster if you get off your ass and start doing instead of letting yourself wallow in the fact that everything’s not perfect.

Find the Silver Lining

This one’s not always easy. In my case, it is: my disastrous Ph.D. dissertation defense has convinced me that, when I do finish – and I will – I’m not going to pursue a career in academia (at least, not right away). Instead, I’m going to dedicate myself full time to coaching and training, so that I can do what’s truly important to me: live, learn, and pass on.

If you’re struggling to find the silver lining, that’s okay. Don’t force it! Instead, realize that at the very least, every challenge is an opportunity for personal growth, and that, in and of itself, is hugely valuable.

Use the Dark Side

I’m honestly not a huge fan of emotional lifting, because emotion is very ephemeral. You can’t count on it to be there when you need it; and it’s difficult to maintain. But hey, if you’re feeling shitty – angry, sad, hateful, whatever – then fuck it. Taking advantage of that emotion when it is there can be a hugely powerful tool to push yourself to new highs, like this:

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Look, I know I was off my coaching game this April, and that I didn’t contribute to my Elitefts fam as much as I should have. That changes now. I’ve got my head out of my ass, and I’m excited for some BIG FUCKING SHIT to go down in May. Stay tuned.