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Do you feel like your Get Up and Go has gone? Are you feeling uninspired? Bored?

Do you dread going to work? Do you feel dull? Unhappy?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, keep reading!

There may be many reasons our Get Up and Go has gone.

Here are a few possibilities to ask yourself:

1. Am I happy in my life outside of work?
2. Am I still doing fun things like I used to?
3. Have I been on any fun vacations – maybe visited another country or even visited the Grand Canyon or New York?
4. Am I happy with my spouse or significant other?
5. Am I unhappy because I don’t have a significant other?
6. Do I feel like I am on the top of my game at work?
7. Do I look forward to new projects and challenges?
8. Have I learned anything new in the last year? In the last five years?

If I answered no to any/all of these questions, what does that mean?

Generally speaking, these issues are not the problem. They are the symptoms of the problem.

Well it could be…

Sure, some of it could be a longing for a simpler time – a pre-hyper-connected era. We are so busy with our iPhone, Tablet, Laptop, working 24/7, that could certainly make a person burn out. After all, who wouldn’t like to just go home and forget all about work? But no, that’s not it.

Perhaps it is a trick of the mind that times past were so much more fun and lively and interesting. After all, my days are just copy and pasted from the previous day. Nothing ever changes. I get up, brush my teeth, get dressed, commute to work, do the same things over and over at work, commute home again and then eat while watching TV, check Facebook and go to bed. So, perhaps you did have more fun in the past, but no, that’s not it either.

You’ve conveniently forgotten how in the past you had the same daily grind, the weeks that you were so tired you could barely function and that you were stressed out and broke. However,  you reminisce as if those days – your best days – are over – and you are destined to subsist on the memories of ‘my best years’ in the rear-view mirror.

You are not happy at work because the new kids have come in and blown past you. They are already making you look bad. You don’t ask for or take on any new projects unless they are forcibly given to you.  You just feel tired. You haven’t bothered to sign up for any training, certifications or anything else.

You are bored with your marriage or your significant other. There is no zest or spice to your relationship. When you are not in a relationship you can’t find anyone that appeals to you.

Well, if my past wasn’t really better than my present,  then what’s the real problem?

What we’ve forgotten is that those days were fun and motivating because we were making memories. We tolerated the days of grind, hard work and being broke because we were out and about doing things that interested us, spending time with our friends and family, learning new things. Going places and exploring – every day seen as an opportunity to try something new.

Somewhere along the line we decided that we were too old, too tired, too slow to learn or do anything new – as if we were an old outdated model and not up to the challenge of competing with our past; As if the accumulation of time had, instead of sharpening our intellect or adventurousness, somehow made us dull and witless.

The real enemy of our Get Up and Go has been the acceptance of routine as the baseline of life to the exclusion of other choices.

We have simply acquiesced to lethargy and allowed the heavy chains of routine to be placed over our minds.

Well, you say, what can I do about it? I have good news! You can reboot your Get Up and Go in less than one minute!

All it takes is a decision and then an action. Fun, growth, change and adventure are only a decision and an action away!

So, here is what you do:

Take a moment to think about what you would like to do, or accomplish – just one thing – and then make a plan to do it. Give your Get Up and Go a little jump start.

One small movement to act can set the new idea in motion.

What have you been thinking about doing and just never did? Do it now!

• Make that phone call. Who have you put off calling for too long?
• Dust off and update that resume. Post it and make it searchable on LinkedIn. How can anyone find you if you can’t even be bothered to update your own CV?
• Take that class. What have you always wanted to learn? How to build your own website? Pivot tables? Linguistics? Data Analysis? How to rappel down the side of a mountain? How to bake bread from scratch? How to write a book? Google the idea and your city and you will be amazed at what comes up in the search. Almost everything under the sun is right around the corner.
• Take the opportunity to make new memories. Meet someone new. Say hi to the woman next to you pumping weights at the gym. Ask her how she learned weightlifting.
• Learn something new! Go online and sign up! What are you curious about that you never followed up on because you got so busy with life and kids and a spouse and ageing parents?  It’s never too late to get out of your shell and do something new! Almost every community has a “community school” that offers all sorts of classes for either free or a very minimal amount of money.
• Call a friend, and say, “Hey Friend, let’s go hike the Santa Monica mountains on Saturday!” or “Hey love, can we go skydiving? I always wanted to do that!”
• Go back and revisit those things that used to give you pleasure or joy. Dust off that skateboard and go hit the beach riding path.  Pump up the tires and clean the seat of your bike and ride around the neighborhood, or ride to the grocery store. Go see that movie you keep putting off seeing. Walk around and see all the new shops you didn’t know were there, say hi to your neighbors, sit and listen to  the birds, smell the salt from the ocean and feel the sun on your face.
• Visit the local library and check out some books (yes, real non-digital books).
• Be the buddy for someone else who has wanted to go to a baking/karate/tai chi/yoga class. You will help someone and have fun too!

It’s not too late to become the person you have always wanted to be. You can get your mojo back. Your Get Up and Go is not broken – it just waiting for you reboot and make the first move. Let’s start today!

So, what is it that you have been putting off doing?  Share in the comments below!