How to recover from a mini business meltdown:
1. Get in motion. Buy a plane or train ticket anywhere.
2. Surround yourself with people who've been through the fire and can give excellent advice.
3. If you can, give yourself a few days to only do what you really want to do. Go get amazing street food and explore museums. Go dancing with friends. Put your toes in the sand.
4. Don't force anything. Wait for it. It'll happen.
5. Sleep lots and return to your creative cave gently and joyfully.
When you're in the middle of a breakdown the last thing you want to hear is that there's a purpose for it.
A few meltdowns ago I got the kindest email from a reader. She told me about a book (which book, I am not sure — I'll get back to you on that!) on a similar topic, and what she shared struck me so deeply that I want to share it with you.
"This phase of low tide is there [for] a certain purpose. For example, to make you come up with new ideas, to get some rest, to think about certain decisions or to change your direction."
Some of us at #CreativeVacay! Photo by Eyes of Love Photography
I've never thought about it like that. I simply acknowledged that the "bad" stuff happens so we appreciate the "good". But this notion of the valleys giving us space to change direction or come up with new ideas... I can totally dig that.
In the summer of 2015 I boarded a plane to Brisbane, Australia, where I met up in Byron Bay with an incredible group of creative badass boss ladies for #CreativeVacay.
The trip, which happened in the middle of this funk, gave me a lot of space to fully enjoy the experience and perhaps discover a new direction for my business. A week before that trip, I never saw it coming.
I left Brisbane with a bunch of ideas and a few strong messages and new ideas on creativity and business. So let yourself ebb and flow, but when it comes time, get out there and jump back in.
What's your recovery strategy for when you're really down and out? Let me know by emailing me at amanda@amandasandlin.com.