Lost Your Mojo? Get It Back In A Flash!

We need our mojo--our magic, our very best energy--to run our business, to lead our teams, to talk to our clients, and to be the best leader we know we can be.

Our mojo is our source of confidence--the thing that lets us know we can be successful.

When we question ourselves, when we doubt ourselves, it helps us do the things we need to do to achieve, succeed and have impact.

But a setback or crisis can leave your mojo shattered just when you need it the most. So how can you go about restoring it? Here are six simple options:

1. Start with one small win. When you let yourself think you'll never be able to win again, you're setting yourself up for the very failure you fear. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you're trying to reverse your mindset, so try focusing on doing small things well. You don't have to take on the world--just complete one small task with focus and excellence. That small win can help restore your confidence. And if you repeat it, again and again, one step at a time, suddenly you will have managed what may have felt unmanageable. 

2. Focus on your mission, not your obligations. When you get caught up in a cycle of obligations but shut off from your own positive forces, you can lose touch with what drives you, and you may find yourself trudging through the day. If that happens, it's time to stop and focus on your mission. Why are you doing what you do? What's the motivation, the drive, the passion, behind everything you're doing? If you can find your mission, you'll get back your motivation, and if you get back your motivation you will find your confidence.

3. Get unstuck by shifting your perspective. Sometimes you may feel like you're stuck in cement. Nothing you try seems to work. But have you been trying new things, or just variations on the same things that you already know don't work? To shift your perspective and regain your mojo, try doing old things in new ways. And that means changing the way you look at things. Changing your view and your perspective can help you find new solutions and new confidence.

4. Stay far from negativity. When things are going wrong and you find yourself feeling challenged, a negative attitude is an understandable development. From there, it's a short jump to engaging in destructive behavior and spending time with people who fuel your negativity and cynicism, and things can quickly spiral out of control. If you are serious about getting back on track you have to stay away from negative thinking, negative people and negative circumstances. Surround yourself with positivity and encouragement.

5. Mind what you say to yourself. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. Especially when you're down, you may judge yourself harshly and speak internally to yourself in terrible ways that you'd never use with anyone else. You can reverse abusive self-talk with the SOS technique:

• Stop and take a breath--this gives you an opportunity to interrupt the cycle.
• Observe what you're saying to yourself and how it makes you feel.
• Shift your response. 

6. Don't be afraid to ask for help and support. If there's anything good about a crisis of confidence, it's that it can help you break the feeling that you have to know everything, do everything, and be entirely self-reliant. Sometimes the simplest act of asking for help can be the biggest booster in getting your mojo back. Speaking with someone can help you remember who you really are, and it can remind you that even the smartest, the most successful, most accomplished people need the assistance and support of others.

If you really want to get back on the horse, work through some or all of these steps--and above all, stay focused on the present and future instead of the past.