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A client shared with me that he had fallen out of “the zone” and couldn’t seem to get back in. He felt as if all the positive momentum he’d accumulated had dissipated, and he was now stuck in a place of doubt and incessant worry.
One of the things I suggested he and I focus on was his “bounce back” rate.
What is a bounce back rate, and can you help me improve it?
Let’s say you feel de-railed for any given reason (self-doubt, outside criticism, a binge, too much thinking, an illness or tragedy, etc.) and it currently takes you three weeks + two anxiety attacks before you get back on track. That three weeks + two anxiety attacks is your ‘bounce back rate.’
In that case, you and I would work together to discover 1) what triggers set you off in the first place, 2) how you can prevent those triggers from causing you to de-rail in the future, and 3) ways to help you bounce back faster, in case you ever de-rail again.
Ideally - and this is very possible - when you are thrown off track, you will be able to bounce back immediately. That does not mean there still won’t be ‘stuff’ to deal with once you’re back in the flow (emotions to sort out, bills to pay, apologizes to make), but the point is: you will be dealing with this stuff while back in the flow. And that, my friend, is the clearest, wisest, most effortless place from which to deal with anything.
So what keeps us out of the flow (or “the zone”) in the first place?
There are a variety of things that can weigh us down or throw us off track. Some of these weights include: too much analysis of the past/present/potential future, fears, lack of confidence, lack of faith, not really being ready to thrive, resentment, anger, guilt of leaving others behind, not listening to your intuition, chronic anxiety, lying to yourself about what you really want…
If you habitually find yourself thrown off track and struggling to get back on, read through that list and ask yourself which one(s) apply to you. Then, do your best to work on ways in which to heal yourself and remove the block once and for all.
Remember: once you have eliminated your block(s), it doesn’t matter what knocks you off track because you will always be able to pick yourself back up and re-group with minimal to no scarring. Better yet… what if you got to a place of such steadfastness of Spirit that nothing could even knock you off track in the first place!? That is possible - but until you reach that point, don’t beat yourself up about de-railing every now and then. It happens to the best.
Remember: there is nothing wrong with the fact that you fall out of your flow every now and then; it is only your dwelling on the fact that you have “de-railed” that becomes a hindrance. Note: “de-railed” is in quotations because you are never really off track. Your detours and tangents are all a part of the process. Trust in that.