When each new year rolls around, I like to think of a word that will be the focus of my year. It helps me start a new year with a sense of purpose, and in theory, the word guides my actions through the year. In 2024, my word was MORE. Not more as in more stuff. More as in more time with family and friends, more self care, more calm, more doing the things I love, more listening to my gut, more positivity.
I think I had some measure of success the first half of the year. I made an effort to visit my parents regularly. I called on friends. I was gentle with myself. However, mid-year I found myself in a personal slump. I was unmotivated, uninspired, lacking my usual desire to be out in the world doing all the things. Reflecting back on 2024, I now recognize that it was around August when my word changed. That’s when MORE morphed into STUCK, as in I felt stuck and discouraged with just about every part of my life.
Feeling stuck isn’t a new thing for me. As a “creative” (at least a creative in my mind), I’m somewhat prone to bouts of indifference or lack of motivation. I get stuck for a day or two at a time, then something grabs me and I’m back to my normal, reflective self. But this time, my slump lasted for half a year. I had trouble getting re-inspired. Finally, around Christmas, I found that I was awakening from a six month hiatus. A happier, more creative version of Crysta was re-emerging. I ended 2024 grateful to be feeling unstuck and more like myself.
How do I get unstuck when I’m feeling indifferent about the world? In particular, how did I get out of this long slump? I don’t necessarily have a master plan or all the answers, but I do have a few strategies that generally help. Here they are.
- I get outside. Sunshine helps my mood and creativity immensely. I like to sit outside and read or take walks with friends. Being cooped up inside tends to make me feel depressed.
- I connect with people. I am an introspective extravert, and I need my family and friends. When I spend time with my favorite people, I am almost immediately pulled out of my funk.
- I read. Generally, a good book with great, poignant quotes gets my creative juices flowing and leaves me feeling uplifted.
- I focus on gratitude. When I focus on the things I am grateful for in my life — my son, my husband, my family and friends who support me, my job — it’s hard for me to stay down for too long. I almost immediately recognize that I have a blessed life in so many ways.
- Finally, I write. When I sit down with my journal or at the keyboard, I am able to work through my feelings. Usually after a writing session, I have a better perspective on life.
The point of this is to say that everyone experiences slumps. Everyone has situations that feel insurmountable. And sometimes, a situation is crappy and there’s not much a person can do. However, the ordinary ups and downs of human life can often be resolved through persistence, through individual strategies, through a person’s desire to feel better (and sometimes, medication). It took me six months to climb my way out of my most recent slump, but I am so glad that I stepped into 2025 with a better outlook on the world…and a brand new word.
My new word, however, is for another day and another blog post. I will end with this — a quote from one of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott. “There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and out, about to lose, and out of time. Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.”
Crysta Clear 