We’ve all had those days. When life feels like it’s filled with more “blah” than anything else. In a recent episode of “Own Your Awesome,” Miranda Von Frickin dives into a topic that often goes unspoken but is universally felt: the blahs. Inspired by a comment on her LinkedIn post about abundance, she unpacks how to manage these unavoidable lows and continue radiating awesomeness.

Recognizing and Understanding the Blahs

Defining the Blahs

Blah can mean different things to different people but generally encompasses a sense of lack – whether it’s physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual energy. Unlike more severe conditions like depression or trauma, the blahs are everyday moments that leave us feeling unmotivated and uninspired. We all experience these phases, and they can be triggered by anything from stagnant business results to lackluster personal achievements.

The Ebbs and Flows of Energy

Our energy levels are never constant; they ebb and flow as naturally as the tides. For women, hormonal changes throughout the monthly cycle play a significant role. Alongside these internal, natural rhythms, external factors such as weather, diet, mental inputs, and social interactions further influence our state of being. Miranda highlights the importance of understanding and acknowledging these cycles to manage our well-being better.

Practical Tips to Navigate the Blahs

1. Cover Your Basics: Prayer, Fuel, and Movement

– Prayer and Meditation: Whether you turn to prayer, meditation, or another spiritual practice, maintaining this connection is crucial. Miranda stresses that even simple utterances like, “God, I need you today,” can work wonders.

– Fuel Your Body Mindfully: Nutrition plays a vital role in how we feel. When you’re in a blah state, it’s easy to overlook balanced meals. Miranda advises keeping yourself hydrated and paying attention to what you consume, even if you indulge in comfort foods occasionally.

– Move Your Body: Physical activity doesn’t have to be intense to be effective. A walk, especially if you can go barefoot, can ground you and improve your mood. Miranda recommends a ten-minute walk with a focus on feeling the earth beneath your feet.

2. Progress One Small Goal

Don’t overwhelm yourself with ambitious goals. Instead, focus on something small that can give you a sense of accomplishment. It might be folding laundry, wiping down the refrigerator, or even hanging a picture that’s been lying around. These tiny tasks can offer a spark of productivity without draining your creative energy.

3. Give Yourself Grace

Feelings of unproductivity can breed guilt and further exacerbate the blahs. Miranda urges listeners to lean into these moments and give themselves permission to recharge. Take a lazy day, rearrange your schedule, and cut yourself some slack. Remember, pushing through can lead to burnout, whereas taking the time to rest will ultimately energize you for the future.

Continuing the Conversation on Blahs

Miranda invites listeners to join the discussion on LinkedIn and Instagram. Sharing experiences, strategies, and what works for you can turn a solo struggle into a collective journey towards better emotional health.

Conclusion

Navigating the blahs doesn’t have to mean compromising your sense of awesomeness. By covering your basics, setting small achievable goals, and giving yourself the grace to rest, you can manage these inevitable phases with resilience and optimism. As Miranda eloquently puts it, “When you do that, that is absolutely owning your awesome.”

Transcript: 

Miranda [00:00:01]:
Hello. Hello. And welcome to another episode of Own Your Awesome. I’m your host, Miranda Von Frickin. Today’s conversation is going to be a controversial one. Well, not super controversial, but one that we all go through, the topic at least we we’ve all been there, but we don’t really talk about it enough. And it was inspired by a comment made on one of my LinkedIn posts recently when I talked about abundance. Last week’s episode was all about abundance.

Miranda [00:00:36]:
So if you missed it, go back and take a listen. Give me your thoughts. DM me on Insta or LinkedIn. Let me know where you feel you’re lacking abundance, but also come back and listen to this episode because I often feel that abundance and lack kinda go hand in hand. And just like our energy ebbs and flows, abundance does as well. So today, we’re talking about feeling awesome yet also being in the blahs. Right? So can you still be awesome completely owning how you roll, but feel blah at the same time. Now let’s define blah.

Miranda [00:01:18]:
Blah can mean anything from a lack of physical energy to, you know, some off feeling internally, sadness, lack of energy. I find more so that my blahness doesn’t necessarily come from physical lack of energy, but a lack of mental, emotional, and spiritual energy. So today, we’re gonna talk about when you’re just not feeling it. What does it mean? How do you get over it? Do you push through it? Do you give yourself a little bit of time to just kind of lean into it? We’re gonna talk about all the things. But, honestly, when it comes down to it, the answer is yes. You can absolutely feel blah and still be awesome. And it doesn’t mean you have to fake it. It doesn’t mean you have to force it.

Miranda [00:02:10]:
It just means it is what it is. We’re gonna allow it to happen and then know, and this is the key, know that it’s going to pass. Now this is definitely different from a deeper depression. I’m not talking about, you know, major trauma. I’m talking about the everyday blas that we feel when we are lacking results or not seeing progress that we’re looking for, whether we’re in business or in life in general or if we’re an employee and we’re just feeling like the environment around us is sucking our souls out. I’ve been there before, and I know it happens. So when we’re feeling blah and especially for women, it’s normal. Right? So let me just first say it’s completely normal.

Miranda [00:03:00]:
We have so many different cycles of energy in our life and our business because, a, we’re human. Right? Like, we’re human. So, of course, we’re gonna feel things high sometimes and low at other times, and energy ebbs and flows based on a bunch of different factors. I mentioned women, of course. So our cycle, our monthly cycle definitely determines how we’re feeling. Different hormones are high or low. Different things are off vitamins, minerals in our body. So that’s definitely one thing.

Miranda [00:03:34]:
If you haven’t started looking into, I would highly suggest. Of course, I’m not a doctor, but I do play 1 on Instagram. No. I’m kidding. I do follow a lot of them. I speak to my doctors. I’ve got a few of them. And every time we have conversations, it’s about my energy and different cycles of when our energy comes and goes.

Miranda [00:03:56]:
I started tracking my monthly cycle on purpose a few years ago to to catch when what weeks are more productive for me and what weeks I need to kinda just allow myself to be quote, unquote lazy. So, of course, there’s one reason for our energetic ebbs and flows. Another one can be daily based on the fuel that we use to energize us. Are we drinking water? Are you taking your vitamins? Are you moving your body? What are you consuming? Like, that’s a huge piece of what drains or enhances my energy is what am I reading? What am I consuming? Am I scrolling aimlessly on social media or am I purposefully reading a book or taking a class or a course or meeting with my mastermind girls? Like, what is purposeful and what is aimless? That has a lot to do with my energy. And another thing, of course, can be outside influences such as the weather, results that we’re getting from business, or lack of results, our family, our friends, our employees, employers. Like, there’s so many outside factors that can really mess or enhance our current energy state. So that’s why it’s so important for us to really focus on the internal factors, the things that we can control. So then when outside factors say, like, the weather happens, we can’t control the weather.

Miranda [00:05:25]:
So when that happens, we’re able to kinda lessen the blow. So I live in upstate New York, and right now, it’s pretty cloudy out. It’s been raining a lot lately, and it the weather, oddly enough, is starting to feel kinda cool when I roll down the windows and stick my arms out. It’s no longer hot. For the last 2 or 3 days, it’s been kinda chilly where I’ve rolled the window up. I actually put a hoodie on last night sitting on the couch and chilling with the family because I was cold, and I was like, what is happening? It’s it’s not even August yet. Why is it cold? So the outside factors like weather, I can’t control that, but I can control how I feel my body, how I prepare for different weeks knowing my where my cycle is, and I can control what I put in my body. Not only in my belly and in my mouth, but in my brain as well.

Miranda [00:06:17]:
So what’s the best way to keep momentum going when you’re not feeling it? Of course, I talked about inside, outside factors, but there are some things I think they’re top 3 pretty basic things to to bring up. And when you’re feeling less than your most fabulous self and you don’t feel like you can own your awesome today, you just feel like you gotta just sit on the couch and veg out for a little bit, but you start to feel guilty about it. So here’s the problem. Right? Like, I’m all about leaning in and feeling a little, like, lazy and just owning it. But if it’s if it’s consuming too much of my time, I start to mentally feel like a slacker, and that’s when it turns into something deeper. So here are a few things that I suggest based on my experience in these ebbs and flows and living in the blahs and blending the blahs with the awesomes. Here are 3 things that I highly suggest and I’d love to hear your input too. DM me on Insta or LinkedIn, shoot me an email, let me know what you would add to this list or take away.

Miranda [00:07:19]:
The first thing is to cover your basics. That’s prayer, meditation, whatever you do, whatever your higher calling, higher spirit is, guides, universe, spirit, whoever you talk to when no one’s looking, you still need to have that conversation every single day. Even if it’s not giving gratitude, even if it’s not asking for anything, you can just simply say, god, I need you today. I don’t know what I need, you know what I need, and I’d love for you to give it to me. That was kind of what my prayer looked like a little bit, about an hour or so ago. I was like, God, you know all the things I typically pray for. I want all of that and whatever else you think I need for today because I just wasn’t sure what I really wanted or needed in that moment. But you still have to have the conversation.

Miranda [00:08:15]:
You still have to pull cards. You still have to call in your spirit guides and ask them to give you what it is you need today. And that, my friend, is key. 1st and foremost, cover your basics with prayer. The next one is fuel. Of course, I know when I’m feeling blah, I usually don’t food prep, and I don’t I’m not as mindful when I’m eating. Sometimes I’m having lunch on the couch or watching a show, and I’m like, well, I don’t even did I eat already? I can’t remember. And I’m, like, looking at an empty plate, and I’m like, I didn’t even remember eating.

Miranda [00:08:47]:
So that to me is huge. When I’m feeling blah, I have to pray. I have to fuel my body mindfully. So I’ll say, alright. I’m feeling like crap today. What do I want? Looking at Hot Pockets or something. And I’ll say, even if I do decide to eat crappy, I’m still gonna be mindful that I’m eating it, and I’m gonna have a glass of water with it because water is a huge part of our fuel. So keep yourself hydrated, fuel yourself as as best as you can, but be mindful of the fuel you’re taking in.

Miranda [00:09:18]:
And the third one is to move, and it doesn’t mean go hit the gym or CrossFit or run all the miles. Just go for a small walk and even better if you’re barefoot. Alright? If you got a backyard or, you know, there’s some grass in your area, take your shoes off, take your socks off, listen to, like, listen to one of my old podcasts that you haven’t listened to yet. They’re, like, 5 to 10 minutes long, and just walk around and just feel the difference with the earth under your feet. And I often ask mother nature, mother earth to heal whatever is off in my body while I’m grounding. So for me, doing a 10 minute walk and drinking water, being mindful, and praying, that can all be done very easily even when I’m in the blahs. So that’s my my first really big tip is to cover your basics. Pray, fuel, move.

Miranda [00:10:11]:
The second thing I do is one thing to progress of a goal forward. Now it doesn’t have to be, you know, I’ve got, like, 10 goals I’m working on. It doesn’t have to be the hardest one or the one that needs to work right now. I’m not gonna go selling to all the clients to fill up my couple of LinkedIn management spaces that I have left for the quarter like I’m not gonna go crazy and do big business things I’m gonna find like the smallest goal like put my clothes away, fold the laundry, Hang up a photo that I’ve and propped up against my wall that I have yet to hang up yet. Something small to progress my life forward. Right? Even wipe down the refrigerator. Something super simple and mundane that it doesn’t take any creative juices because you probably just don’t have them when you’re feeling blah. However, if you move something forward, anything forward in your life, it’s gonna give you that sense of accomplishment, and you’ll start to feel a little spark, right, from that small task.

Miranda [00:11:17]:
So that’s a second big thing I do is say to myself, what’s the most smallest thing that I can progress forward? And, usually, it’s a house chore. Right? Like, not like, oh, I have to vacuum, so that’s my normal. It’s it’s Wednesday. It’s whatever day I gotta vacuum. Those are just, you know, you gotta get stuff done. What’s one thing out of your norm that you can progress your life forward? Is it dust your bookshelf? Is it, you know, reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in a while? Like, have a conversation with an old friend. Like, what’s one little thing that you could do that you need to do that you haven’t that can progress your life forward? Something so basic, so simple. Like I said, wipe down the refrigerator.

Miranda [00:11:59]:
I mean, so simple, but it still gives you a sense of accomplishment. And then the third thing, and this is my favorite, is to give yourself grace. You, as a human, have every single right to not be in hustle mode, go go go mode every single day all day. It is physically impossible to not recharge our body. We have to recharge our mind, our body, and our soul. So lean into the blahs, as crazy as that sounds, and just recharge. Tell yourself, alright. This is a blah day.

Miranda [00:12:38]:
Look at your calendar. What do you have to rearrange? What can you delegate? What can you cancel? Let’s be honest. There’s some things on your calendar you don’t actually need there. What can you cross off, give away, or put off to another day? And just give yourself grace all day and say, yep. I’m gonna do nothing all day. Because I find when I give myself grace and permission to be lazy for just that day, it does more for me than pushing through than forcing it. Because what happens is when you force it, you become completely depleted of all resource of energy and you crash, and you end up needing more time or you drop a ball on something, you forget to reply to somebody, you don’t follow-up. Bad things happen when you push it and you force yourself too much.

Miranda [00:13:33]:
So when you’re feeling blah, cover your basics, pray, fuel up, move, do one little baby thing to progress something forward that day and give yourself some grace. Lean in to whatever you’re feeling. Give yourself permission to recharge. And when you do that, that is absolutely owning your awesome. I’m so excited to continue this conversation. Today on LinkedIn, I posted about abundance. I think some point this week, I’m gonna I’m gonna talk a little bit about feeling the blahs and what people do to get out of it. I will put this episode in the comments.

Miranda [00:14:18]:
I’d love to continue the conversation on LinkedIn and Instagram. What do you do when you feel blah? Do you lean into it? Do you force yourself through it? Do you talk to a friend? Do you bring in others? I’d love to hear what you do when you’re feeling blahs. And what’s the one thing I suggested that you think may be helpful? And let’s talk about that. Alright, friends. Thank you so much for joining me for another episode of Own Your Awesome. I’m your host, Miranda Von Frickin. And until next week, keep being awesome.