Okay, easier said than done, I know. But the last thing you want to do when you find yourself out of work is sabotaging yourself by wallowing in your misery. Misery loves company, remember? So, when you're already feeling completely uninspired, now is NOT the time to play music that accompanies your mood, or watch that movie that makes you bummed out. Believe me, this is a difficulty I have doing myself. When I'm bummed, I want to watch a movie that will make me stay bummed. When I'm angry, I want to listen to music that makes me stay angry. In fact, just last week I was listening to UnderOath just because I was frustrated with everything and I wanted to hear someone else scream for a change. And it feels nice, of course. Ever have one of those friends that tries to cheer you up when you're upset? Sometimes it's a really nice gesture, and sometimes (with me, more often than not it's this way) it's most definitely NOT appreciated. I LIKE being fully submerged in my mood. There are rare times when that is okay and appropriate behavior (see: dramatic life change, loss in family, etc.) because you need to effectively get all of your emotions out. But when it's just about the hiccups life throws your way, you need to snap yourself out of it. Which brings us to the big question: HOW?

• Play music that makes your butt move, even if you're *so* not excited about it.

I recommend "Close to Me" by The Cure, "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings, "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates (Seriously, try not to move to this one. I DARE YOU.) or if all else fails "Single Ladies" by Beyoncé. I have a mix on my iTunes entirely devoted to dancing in my underwear. Sometimes life demands you dance in your skivvies.

• Unplug your life.

There is nothing that sucks the life out of me more than when I set out to be productive, and "all of a sudden" five hours later, all the more productive I've been was clicking "refresh" on facebook a thousand times. On the upside, it means I've burned like 3 calories. So that's exercise, right? But in all seriousness, get outside. I know, I know. EVERYONE tells you to get outside. 20 minutes in the sun gives you an amazing boost in your Vtamin D production; Fresh air in your lungs feels so much better than the airplane-reminiscent air circulating in your house. Since it's still Winter, I'll admit that it's harder to get outside. But, for your sanity, AT least go out to get the mail. Even if you don't want to go outside, at least do something non-electronic. I firmly believe that God didn't create us to be constantly surrounded by flickering lights. Read a book. If you don't like to read, bake something. If you don't like to bake, create something. If you don't like to create, do some jumping jacks and get your blood flowing. If you STILL don't like to do anything of that sort, then spend 20 seconds analyzing what you DO like and provided it's not electronic, GO DO IT!

• Try to create. (And when I say 'try', I mean DO.)

Some of us aren't artists, writers, chefs, gardeners, musicians, or of the building type. Some of you think that the only thing you're ever potentially going to be good at creating is a baby, and that's only because God-designed it that way. But here's the thing. God is a creator. The Creator. And His likeness and His image and His heart was created into us. Find something you can do, and be proud of it. I tried out one of my waffle recipes yesterday and it was a horrible disaster. I sat on the floor disappointed and dejected and that's when Spencer said to me, "Look. I went to Culinary School. I have a degree in creating food. And in all of my training and all of my everything, you've officially made more waffles from scratch than me." I shrugged off his statement, but it's true. I know more about making waffles from scratch than a Chef. Granted, he may know the mechanics behind it better, but what I did learn is I have to enjoy even my small victories, and so do you. So, you can't draw? Try. So, you can't write? Do it anyway. Go find something you can pour into for a little bit and when you're done, whether it's amazing or not, rejoice in your small win. You've created something. That's pretty great.

• Destroy your self-limiting beliefs before they destroy you.

I'm not sure how familiar any of you are with the term "self-limiting belief". It's pretty self-explanatory, but in essence, it's all of those thoughts and lies that are keeping you from being the amazing person God wants you to be. For instance, "I'm not smart enough", "I'm not good enough", "I tried that once and it was horrible so clearly it means I'm to never to it again". Things like that. We all have them, and we all have to work through them before they shut us down and enable us to be weak, uninspired individuals that never serve a purpose. Spend some time thinking about what yours is. Write it down on a piece of paper, then CROSS IT OUT. It sounds silly, but it is quite silly. Then after you are done crossing it out, write the opposite of it. Mine looks like this: "I am inadequate and unprepared for life and I feel like I don't know where I'm going or even how to get there. Everyone else around me has it figured out and I'm sitting in the shadows with my head bowed." Now it says: "I am perfectly adequate and everything I need to be great is already inside of me. I am going to be amazing and great, full of life and adventure, and everyone is going to ask me for advice on how I let myself be so amazing." (Notice the key words there: let myself be amazing.) Once you look at yourself differently, you can change your perceptions about your surroundings and your circumstances. Stop beating yourself up and believing lies that are most certainly not true. You have to believe in yourself before you'll get anywhere.