As I sit here in bed, eyes glued to my computer screen, I cannot find the strength to sit up and do my math homework. I watch the time push forward, and as each minute passes, the desire to leave my comfortable bed lessens and lessens. This is what I like to call “getting stuck.”

Sometimes we get stuck, both mentally and physically. This “stuckness” prevents us from getting out of bed to do the math homework we know is due that next morning. It is what stops us from going to the gym or being productive. It is what inhibits us from getting into a good groove, a groove in which we are motivated and excited to get things done.  

The beginning of school is a perfect example. As the school year begins, we say hello to meetings, homework, and 7 hours of classes, all while leaving behind our relaxed summer schedules. During this transition period, it is easy to get stuck. Stuck not knowing what to do. Stuck wallowing in self pity over the late nights completing endless mounds of work for more classes than we can name off the top of our heads. This period of stagnation clouds our perceptions of ourselves, leaving us stressed and feeling unhealthy. In simple terms, it leaves us stuck.

And it is not until we get back into a new groove that we begin to feel like ourselves again. But,  finding a new groove isn’t always as easy as it seems. It takes a lot of effort and intrinsic motivation. It is up to us to motivate ourselves and get up off that couch and work out, or draw, or do something that makes us happy.

Our minds and bodies work in harmony. If one is off balance, the other follows. Therefore, if we harbor negative mindsets, we are more likely to look at our bodies and our lives in a more negative light. We are preventing ourselves from getting into a new groove. We are singlehandedly holding ourselves back from our potential.

That being said, being happy all the time is unrealistic. If we feel sadness or pain, we must allow ourselves time to feel those emotions. We must acknowledge those emotions or else they will always linger in our brains unresolved. If I am feeling stressed, I am allowed to lay in bed, doing literally nothing. However, this cannot take over my entire night. That being said, it is once we allow ourselves to feel our feelings that we allow ourselves to see the other side, the light out of the hole we are stuck in. And it is then that we begin to find our paths, our new grooves.

Whenever I am in a funk, or lack motivation, I count to three. All it takes is three seconds to make a change. Three seconds to tell yourself to get up out of bed, or off that couch. Three seconds to tell yourself to eat that apple and peanut butter instead of that Kit Kat. Three seconds to tell yourself to open your math book and close your laptop. However, it’s easy to extend this three seconds to 4, and then 5, and then, six, and then, you get the point. It is up to us to hold ourselves accountable to following this time limit. After these three seconds are up nothing’s going to drastically change, but they will signify the beginning of your new mentality. The beginning of what is to be.

And after a while, your homework will become more bearable because it is a scheduled to-do, rather than a nuisance (notice I said more bearable, not ENTIRELY bearable). You will hopefully find yourself being more productive. Every so often you will need to count to three, and that is okay. Life can get stressful and sometimes counting to three acts as a reset button would. It clears our paths ahead, paving out a new road to follow.

So, if you are in a hole and just can’t get out, remember that you have the power to bring happiness back into you… just count to three and stand up.