The Slump

… it’s coming for you.

Photo: Shlomaster

Are you on top of the world and crushing it? Turning everything into gold? Firing creatively on all cylinders?

This will not last. The streak will end.

Maybe it will be a business slump— no clients will call you for a week. Then two weeks, three … You had more work than you could handle for months and then, wham! Dry as a bone.

Or, perhaps it will be a quality slump— your work is uninspired, derivative, flat, repetitive, boring, or quite simply, BAD.

Your ideas? Unoriginal. Missing the mark.

Your motivation? Vanished without a trace.

And when this happens, no matter how many times it has happened before, it always feels like the end. “This is it. I’m all out,” you’ll say.

Why do we make it worse for ourselves by piling on?

There is something in most of us that makes it easier to fixate on mistakes, shortcomings, and failings than to recognize our achievements and our wins.

How quickly we forget that we are also capable of real success, even for long stretches at a time.

When a slump comes along, we almost welcome it as a relief from the pressure of maintaining a winning record. Or sometimes, we may see the slump’s arrival as the universe putting things right and balancing out all that good luck we were enjoying, as if we never deserved to be successful in the first place.

Nonsense!

Here is what I have learned over the years: a slump is often followed by a jump!

A jump in skills. A jump in ideas. A jump in your business.

Working THROUGH a slump is the way to get to the jump. Wallowing in the sadness of the slump is a waste of time.

Sometimes, the slump is a sign that you are ready to try something new. You may have tapped something out— exhausted it — and now it’s time for a change. It could be time to change your marketing approach, change the style of your work, change the clients you’re chasing … the slump is a great time for experimenting. Throw things at the wall to see what sticks.

Sometimes the slump has nothing to do with you at all. Factors beyond your control slow things down. When this happens, focus on getting better at what you do and when things pick up again (and they WILL), you’ll be that much more of an expert in your area.

And that is the thing to remember, above all: the slump always ends. There will be a change in the wind. Better to stay busy and stay focused while you wait, then to sit like a lump.

Lumps don’t jump.

If you can focus on where (and who) you want to be when the slump starts fading, then you’ll be in pole position.

I’m in a slump right now, artistically speaking.

Believe me, it stinks. And it seems interminable. It seems unbeatable.

But writing this helps me to realize it isn’t. I’ve been here many, many times.

And I have jumped oh, so high.

So here’s to the slumps, friends! May they always keep us humble, keep us hungry, and keep us moving towards the next good thing.

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Thanks for reading. I was on vacation and now I’m traveling for work, so forgive me for being out of touch. If you liked this, I’d love it if you shared it with some friends. And if you’ve been reading The Accidental Expert for a long time, maybe consider becoming a paid subscriber. It helps me to keep writing. Or, you can always support me via one of these places.

Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other, and I’ll say, Ciao for now.

Kyle