At the risk of sounding like one of the Brady Bunch, whenever things aren’t going well for me, I ask myself really good questions.
Case in point, I’ve been spending a little more time than I would like to in Snotsville lately.
I’ve picked up a grotty little virus that means I’m popping painkillers most of the day for a niggly headache, and every night I’m waking up several times with a completely dry mouth - my tongue dries out like a sun-scorched sandwich and I have to swish water around my mouth to be able to use it again.
Honestly? It’s all a bit shit.
Not least because having a cold means I can’t keep to my exercise plan, and I feel as if my fitness levels are going backwards, which is frustrating as I’ve signed up to a difficult challenge at the end of next month.
In fact, if I focus on how it’s affecting my life - the virus-induced low energy levels compounded by no blood-pumping exercise to lift my spirits in the morning - then I start to feel a bit sorry for myself.
When you feel like that, you have to steer your mind in the right direction by asking better questions.
One really good question is, “What am I grateful for?”.
Gratitude work has been proven to help lift mood and combat depression, but sometimes it’s hard to feel grateful when you feel physically like shit, and you might need to ask yourself another question to find a route to gratitude.
I often ask myself, “What’s good about this?” because it’s the only way to get my head out of the negative tailspin.
Sometimes, it can make you laugh just asking the question - the other morning, I woke up unable to speak because my mouth was like a dust bowl.
I could hear Kev was awake next to me, and before I opened my eyes, I said (as best as I could with zero lubrication in my mouth and a dry stump for a tongue):
“Whaa guh arou yih?”
It made me laugh out loud even though I felt like shit, which was a good start, and it also got my brain thinking about what I could do rather than what I couldn’t.
For example, since I’ve been focusing on running and weight training, I haven’t found as much time as I’d like for yoga, so YAY! The cold means I’ve been spending more time on gentle yoga practice in the last few days and I’m feeling more bendy.
Also, I was able to enjoy a nice walk in the woods with Eddie at the weekend - my symptoms improved after taking him in the fresh air.
Another thing that’s good is that my goal of having plenty of alcohol-free days is easier when I’m ill, as I rarely feel like reaching for booze when I’m under the weather.
My biggest thought is that having a cold right now hopefully means it will be gone in time for my holiday next week.
Well that’s the theory, anyway.
And if I’m still not feeling well?
Then I’ll keep asking the right questions until I feel better, because the alternative is to drop into a deep, dark mental hole that will be more painful than the physical symptoms.
Do you need help getting out of a hole?
Then get yourself signed up to our next 90 Day Breakthrough.
You’ll be given tons of tips on how to keep your head in a good place, and we’ll support you on staying on track with the goals you set for yourself in our weekly Q&A sessions.