September 23, 2025 • 28 mins
Episode 113: The Spark Comeback: How to Overcome Stagnation and Thrive
In this episode, host Kimen Petersen shares personal stories and practical advice on reigniting your passion and energy in both sport and life. Drawing from his own experiences of losing and rediscovering his spark, Kimen offers listeners actionable steps to overcome periods of stagnation, nurture mind and body, and reconnect with joy and purpose. The episode emphasizes the importance of play, rest, self-compassion, and surrounding yourself with supportive people. Kimen encourages listeners to challenge limiting beliefs, create daily rituals, and permit themselves to enjoy life fully, reminding everyone that their spark is never truly lost—just waiting to be reignited.
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- 0:00 – Introduction to the podcast and today’s theme: getting your spark back.
- 0:40 – Kimen shares a personal story of feeling stuck and uninspired.
- 3:50 – The turning point: advice from a friend and the realization of needing change.
- 7:45 – First step: Play again—reconnect with childhood joys and hobbies.
- 10:00 – The importance of creative outlets and trying new things.
- 11:15 – Nurturing mind and body: movement, nature, and rest.
- 13:00 – Building daily rituals and the power of consistency.
- 14:35 – Acknowledging challenges and practicing “reckless optimism.”
- 16:20 – Rewiring your mindset: small goals and celebrating progress.
- 17:45 – Avoiding comparison and connecting with others for support.
- 19:00 – Becoming your own best friend and challenging negative self-talk.
- 20:30 – Breaking through limiting beliefs and embracing possibility.
- 22:00 – Self-care: doing something just for you and reclaiming joy.
- 24:00 – Embracing emotions, allowing yourself to feel and heal.
- 25:25 – Recap: Rediscover passions, nurture yourself, and give permission to live with joy.
- 27:45 – Closing thoughts: Your spark is waiting for you; you’re right on time.
- 28:25 – Outro and call to share the episode.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to Your Inner Advocate,a podcast by Kimen Petersen,
formerly Conversations with Kimen.
This podcast is a space forinspiration, soulful insights,
and meaningful life lessons.
Your host, Kimen Petersen drawsfrom personal stories and powerful
conversations with remarkablepeople to help illuminate your path.
These episodes reflect his livedexperiences and thoughtful perspectives,
(00:25):
all aimed at encouraging you to live lifewith greater authenticity, joy, and ease.
Your inner advocate is here tohelp you tune in, trust your inner
wisdom, and move through life withmore clarity, flow, and fulfillment.
Welcome back to Your Inner Advocate.
(00:47):
Today's episode was a special requestfrom a really amazing person, and
it's specifically on how to get yourspark back in sport and in life.
Have you ever woken up one morningand wondering, where did my spark go?
(01:09):
Uh, maybe it's your sport, maybe it's inyour career, or maybe it's in your life.
You know, you used to feel alive,passionate, and unstoppable, but now
you're just going through the motion.
(01:30):
Today we're talking about how to get yourspark back, how to reignite your energy.
Passion and the joy inboth sport and life.
'cause here's the truth, losing yourspark doesn't mean it's gone forever.
It's just waiting foryou to find it again.
(01:51):
So I'll start by talkingabout a personal story myself.
For many years,
I pretty much felt like I was.
Living an unendingversion of Groundhog Day.
Have you ever seen thatmovie and the movie,
(02:15):
in the movie, the person, he wakes upevery day back in the same day, and
it's like he's in a, he's in a smalltown and he's there to report on.
It's whether or not the, um,the groundhog sees his shadow.
(02:36):
I think the groundhog'sname was punk Phil.
And when he goes to bed at night, hewakes up in the morning to the, the
tune, put your tiny hand in mind.
There is no hill or mountain we can climb.
And every day he wakes up to thesame song over and over again.
(02:58):
And this is how my life was at one point.
You know,
same emptiness, same anxiety, feelinglike I was spinning my wheels.
I was working at a job that just there,it was basically a dead end job, and
I didn't, um, didn't really have manyaspirations, many dreams anymore.
(03:26):
I'd kind of given up.
But there was a time when I was on fire.
I remember just before this happened, likeI was, I was writing, writing my, my first
(03:47):
book that actually never got finished.
I think it got to about 90% done.
And like I was so exciting inthe proce, excited in the process
as I was going through it.
And once I got to the editing portion,
I just kept on re-editing it,re-editing it, re-editing it,
(04:09):
and it got worse and worse andworse until I finally put it down.
I was chasing that dream.
But.
When it got too much and I thought,okay, so well, I'll start another book
until I can get EXP inspired again.
And I got to 60% of that.
And I put that down.
(04:33):
I was in a job that I wasn'tinspired by what I wasn't.
I, the truth is I knew that I'msomebody who needs to help people,
but the job I was in wasn't great.
Uh, I wasn't reallyhelping too many people.
I wasn't really making adifference in the world.
And so I pretty much gave up.
(04:57):
I was eating too much,wasn't exercising enough.
I had no real interest,no creative outlet.
I,
and I didn't have many friends anymore.
(05:21):
I remember a friend of mine at one time,'cause she'd met me five years before
when I was really, really a low place.
And then she'd see me climb outtathe mud and I was back in the mud
and she said something really coolto me, um, which really stung.
(05:42):
She said, Kimon, I love you.
But I met you five years ago and you areexactly in the same place you are now.
And if you don't do something,
I could come back in five moreyears and you be in the same place.
I love you, but you gotta do something
(06:07):
because you know, part of me knew deepdown inside there was more to this life.
Like I had a purpose that therewas something I was here for.
But a portion of me, through tryingand failure, trying and failure
was giving up.
(06:27):
Like felt like I'll never really makeit to where I need to be in this life.
I,
and I just didn't knowhow to get that back.
You know, maybe that'swhere you are right now.
Maybe you've been through aseries of upsets, which have
(06:48):
like knocked the wind outta you.
'cause that's how I felt.
I felt like I took up a gut blowand I just never got back up.
And I was staring at the ashes of allmy dreams thinking I wasn't good enough.
(07:09):
Or not knowing how I could find myway to the life, to the dream that
was inside just outta my reach.
But I found my way back
and I promise you you can too.
(07:31):
And today I wanna walk youthrough the steps that help me
and can help you.
Rediscover your spark.
One of the fastest ways to getyour spark back is to play again.
(07:53):
Think about it like what werethe things you loved as a child,
you know, before life got too serious,
was it playing, running?
Dancing building things,
pick one of them back up.
(08:16):
You know, way, way back.
One of my athletes was goingthrough a tough moment.
She was a runner.
She, she was injured and couldn't runright now, and she was pretty devastated.
And I asked her like, what do you have?
To fall back on whenrunning isn't going great.
(08:42):
And she looked up at me and she said,what do you got besides work, Kevin?
And I was like, Touche,I'm such a hypocrite.
I, and that's when I found a hobby.
And for me it was the, the initialhobby was photography, got a camera.
Started taking pictures of stills going,taking pictures of athletes, putting them
(09:07):
on social media, connecting with athletes,giving them the great pictures so they
could use them for their social media.
Yeah, kind of started a spark.
So like
if you don't quite have the spark in yourmain thing, C, what else do you have?
What else can you lean into?
(09:27):
It doesn't have to take a lot oftime, but just something, some kind
of a creative outlet, somethingthat gets you moving, something that
brings a little joy in your life
and you pick up.
You don't have to pick up what you're goodat and don't pick up something because
(09:48):
it makes money, but just something thatmakes you feel alive, makes you feel.
Like you, you're accomplishing something.
And if nothing comes to mind,try something brand new.
You know,
(10:08):
go to a museum, pick up a guitaror sign up for a cooking class.
Joy doesn't always return inthe same package, it left.
And sometimes your sparkhides in unexpected places.
Here's a quote, or ignite yourjoy by returning to activities
(10:32):
you loved as a child or tryingnew ones purely for enjoyment.
when our sparks gone, we forgethow to be alive, how to be
inspired, how to laugh, how to fun.
We just live in monotone existence andmaybe at first we have to get away from
(10:55):
what, not get away from what we love.
We can still be doing it, going throughthe motion, but then we need to find
somewhere else to ignite another partof us, which will start igniting other
parts until it gets to our main thing.
So one of the things you really needto do in order to get your spark
(11:17):
back, and a lot of times when you'velost your spark, you're missing out
on nurturing your mind and your body.
Your body and mind are soilwhere your spark grows.
If the soil is dry, nothing flourishes.
Start with movement.
(11:39):
Say if you're, if you're so paralyzed,start moving, walk, run, cycle.
Get outside into nature.
I mean, just experiencing nature andlike if you're a runner and you're
running on the road, well then go intothe trails, go into the trees, but don't
just go through the motion being in thetrees, breathe the air, look around.
(12:03):
Really experience that time in nature.
The thing is when we, when we loseour sparks, sometimes it might
be 'cause we're really exhausted.
Maybe we, we've started somethingnew or maybe we've gone through
(12:24):
a succession of injuries, so,
and now we're pushing back, butwe're not checking in to see how
we're feeling and maybe we're tired.
So you gotta remember thatrest is, is equally important
to getting out in movement.
(12:45):
And sometimes the spark goes outbecause you're exhausted, maybe
mentally, emotionally, or physicallymaybe even fighting so hard for so long
that you just need toslow down, slow your mind.
Slow your body.
(13:08):
Listen to your favoritemusic, crank it up loud, sing.
See if you can create
daily rituals that bring you backinto the present moment and what
that might be like for myself.
Now what I'm doing right now,um, I'm coming back from injury
(13:32):
and I get up in the morning.
Pretty early.
I get up at five and I pour coffee and Isit on the couch without any distraction
and I just come into the present.
I wake up before I get active.
(13:55):
Some people will try morning journalingstretches a gratitude P practice.
If you can start beingconsistent, consistent,
consistent
(14:18):
with finding your joy, consistentwith your routine, consistent
with your rest, consistency buildsmomentum, and actually momentum is
what will bring back the energy.
Here's another quote for you.
(14:38):
When you reach the end of your rope,tie a knot and hang on Thomas Jefferson.
So in order to reallybring back a. You're smart.
The first thing you have to do, of course,is acknowledge everything that's going on.
I did an episode called Recklessoptimism, and reckless optimism
(15:02):
is not toxic positivity.
It's just acknowledge everythingthat's going wrong and then
you choose to be PO positive.
Anyway,
see, when I was really living in.
This sparkless phase when it,when my spark was gone, I lived
(15:27):
in incredible and negativity.
I was obsessing overeverything that went wrong,
and the shift came when I startedwatching for how things were changing.
When I started, first I started moving,then I started getting involved.
(15:50):
I started laughing and I started noticingas I got consistent and I was getting
enough rest, that I was feeling better.
I was, I started to set some small goals,
and as I was accomplishing allthese small goals and watching
for all the improvements,
(16:12):
my brain started to rewire and itstarted to see possibility again.
Remember that the challengesyou face are not punishments.
They're in invitations to grow.
Like what you're going through isbuilding strength for a later time.
(16:35):
Everything has a purpose
and you really gotta work on limitingyour comparison, your journey's, yours.
Comparing your spark to someoneelse's will only dim your flame.
Everybody moves forward at their own rate.
(17:00):
So one of the other things youcan do is to definitely connect
with yourself and others,
and honestly, you don't haveto find your spark alone.
And I say that.
And the people that know me will knowthat I do a lot of stuff solo, but I do
have one person I run with every Sunday.
(17:22):
My buddy Dave, or right nowI can't run properly with.
So we still meet for coffee.
You know, try to surround yourselfwith people who inspire you, people
who remind you of who you are.
There's this, um, quote that I love.
(17:43):
It's like a true friend will learn thesong of your heart and sing it back
to you when you forget their words.
Go out and seek mentors, your,your teammates, friends who lift
you up instead of draining you.
If you've lost your spark.
(18:04):
Talk to somebody you know that'sgone through a moment that was
tough, and find out what they did.
I mean, you can.
You can mimic it untilyou find it yourself.
Find what works for you best,
but even more important, youwill never talk to anyone more
(18:24):
than you talk to yourself.
You'll never spend more time withanyone in this planet, in this lifetime
than you'll spend with yourself.
You gotta learn to beyour own best friend.
Understand that negativedialogue in your head.
It's an aspect of you, but it's notactually you, like you are actually,
(18:47):
like I say, the inner critic is thenegative conversation and the pause,
the positive, deliberate conversation.
You actually have to buildthis up and work it yourself.
But it'll start.
It'll start happening more and more.
The more you, the more you do it.
Consistency, the negative, thenegative part gets a hold of you.
(19:11):
Tell it not true and move forward.
Pump yourself up.
Be your own hype person.
For a lot of people,journaling will really help.
But don't forget that connectionisn't just outward with other people.
(19:34):
It's actually inward too.
It'll actually be really helpfulif you can reconnect with yourself.
Challenge your limiting beliefs.
Man, this is the most powerfulthing I've ever learned.
(19:55):
Is I do not accept my inner criticslimits anymore, and I do not accept
my outer crim critics limits.
I and I do not accept any limitthat comes into my mind, into my
(20:15):
space, any limit that's given to me.
Because like I used tobelieve I wasn't enough.
I wasn't good enough.
I wasn't smart enough.
I wasn't strong enough, andwhen I really buy, didn't like
bought into that conversation.
(20:37):
I was trapped,
not trapped by somebody else, but trappedby my own accepting of the inner critic.
Limiting beliefs are like glass ceilings.
(21:03):
They're only real if youstop pushing up against them.
There's a reason theycall it a breakthrough.
That is when you come up to a perceivedlimit and you push until it shatters and
you break through into a new way of being.
(21:26):
So I challenge you for now on from thisday forward for the rest of your life,
every time you catchyourself saying, I can't.
You can simply replace it.
What if I could
(21:49):
or say not true or say just watch me?
It really depends on who you are.
Your sparks often buriedunder layers of false beliefs.
You start peeling 'em back one by one.
We are onions.
Question your limiting beliefs.
(22:12):
Keep on peeling the back 'cause underneathone of them, you're gonna find it again
and never forget that what you believe isgonna shape your experience of this life
and you don't have to believe it.
(22:35):
Another thing you can do isdo something just for you.
You know, people say,oh, the selfish, but no.
There's a reason why the airplaneteaches the mom to put on the mask first.
It so you can, they cantake care of the children.
(23:00):
You need to fill your cup upbefore you can fill others cups.
Like I am a fan of helping others, but I'ma bigger fan of helping yourself first.
One of the most important stepsis just give yourself permission
(23:23):
to enjoy life just as it is.
And not how you wish it was,
and give yourself permissionto fully enjoy it for the rest
of your life no matter what.
(23:43):
Do something daily that's justfor you, whatever that may be.
Maybe there's some you want toread, maybe you want to take
some time, listen to some music.
Maybe you're just gonna go fora walk garden, sing, paint,
anything that brings you joy.
Find something like, literally listento your favorite music in the morning
(24:06):
and on your way out the house.
Don't walk.
Dance.
Fun is not a luxury.
It's fuel for your spirit.
Reclaim your inner child.
They're sitting backthere, they wanna laugh.
They want to have fun.
If they're full of tears, you gotta letthose tears out until you can get them
(24:27):
back to joy, because have you ever noticeda child, child is going along, falls down
and it cries so dramatically and letsit all out, and then three minutes later
they're laughing and playing again and we.
Something happens terrible in ourlives and we fall down and we go
and we cry and we go, woe is me.
And like shouldn't cry.
(24:48):
And like, oh man, that's like, I'mshould be tough and like, and we just go
through it forever compared to a child.
A child just experiences it letsit out and then moves on to next.
Be like a child, you know?
You gotta feel what you feel when you'refeeling it and you gotta feel your way
all the way through it, right to the end.
(25:10):
Because the freedom will befound in the feeling, and you'll
wanna get your spark back.
You have to allow yourself a moment atthe bottom so you can get back to the top.
And the spark does not come from morepressure, it comes from more play.
(25:31):
Okay, let's bring it all together.
So how do you get your spark back?
You re rediscover your passions.
You nurture your mind,your body, and your spirit.
Practice gratitude.
Set small goals.
Surround yourself with inspiring people.
(25:52):
Lift them up.
They'll lift you up.
Challenge all your limiting beliefs.
Feel what you feel when you'refeeling it and feel your way
all the way through it once.
There's only so much of that inthere, and if you're avoiding feeling
it, it's just gonna stay in place
(26:18):
and most of all, give yourselfpermission to live with joy again.
It is not about flipping a switch.
It's not gonna, it might not, and I don'teven want you to be limited by that.
Maybe it is for you.
Maybe there's this magicalsh shift that'll happen.
Boom, and you'll be back.
But typically it might not be about that.
(26:39):
So if you're using that as this thingto be upset about, don't, it's gonna
take as long as it's gonna take, butit's not gonna take a second more.
It's just like.
If you think about it, if you'veever been injured and it feels
like it's lasting forever, it'snot getting any better, but it is.
(26:59):
You know, everything is getting mini justminutely better every moment of every day.
But it happens so slow.
It takes a long time.
Before we realized the shiftin my practice, sometimes I'm
like, okay, so how's that injury?
And they're like, oh, I haven'tthought about it for like.
Like seven days or two weeks.
It's like that's how it works.
(27:21):
It's all changing.
It's all getting better all the time.
So if you can focus on how it'schanging and not how it's the same,
you might start reigniting that spark.
'cause your spark's not gone.
It's just waiting for you.
(27:44):
I guess we're at the end again.
Hey, thank you for joining metoday on your Inner Advocate.
Hey, if today's episode spoke to you,
I want to re remind you thatyou're not broken, you're not
behind, and you're not too late.
You're right on time.
(28:05):
You are a spark waiting T night.
Thank you for spending this time with me.
If it helped, please shareit with another person.
So maybe they can gettheir spark back too.
And remember, your bestdays aren't behind you.
They're waiting for you.
Have a great one.
(28:26):
Thank you for listening to this episodeof Your Inner Advocate, a podcast by
Kimen Petersen, formerly Conversationswith Kimen if you found value in
today's episode, please follow likeand share the podcast with someone
who you think may benefit from it.
You can listen on Apple Podcast.
Spotify, Podbean, and connect onInstagram @ your inner advocate.
(28:50):
Until next time, keep listening toand developing your inner advocate.
Welcome to Your Inner Advocate,a podcast by Kimen Petersen,
formerly Conversations with Kimen.
This podcast is a space forinspiration, soulful insights,
and meaningful life lessons.
Your host, Kimen Petersen drawsfrom personal stories and powerful
conversations with remarkablepeople to help illuminate your path.
These episodes reflect his livedexperiences and thoughtful perspectives,
(00:25):
all aimed at encouraging you to live lifewith greater authenticity, joy, and ease.
Your inner advocate is here tohelp you tune in, trust your inner
wisdom, and move through life withmore clarity, flow, and fulfillment.
Welcome back to Your Inner Advocate.
(00:47):
Today's episode was a special requestfrom a really amazing person, and
it's specifically on how to get yourspark back in sport and in life.
Have you ever woken up one morningand wondering, where did my spark go?
(01:09):
Uh, maybe it's your sport, maybe it's inyour career, or maybe it's in your life.
You know, you used to feel alive,passionate, and unstoppable, but now
you're just going through the motion.
(01:30):
Today we're talking about how to get yourspark back, how to reignite your energy.
Passion and the joy inboth sport and life.
'cause here's the truth, losing yourspark doesn't mean it's gone forever.
It's just waiting foryou to find it again.
(01:51):
So I'll start by talkingabout a personal story myself.
For many years,
I pretty much felt like I was.
Living an unendingversion of Groundhog Day.
Have you ever seen thatmovie and the movie,
(02:15):
in the movie, the person, he wakes upevery day back in the same day, and
it's like he's in a, he's in a smalltown and he's there to report on.
It's whether or not the, um,the groundhog sees his shadow.
(02:36):
I think the groundhog'sname was punk Phil.
And when he goes to bed at night, hewakes up in the morning to the, the
tune, put your tiny hand in mind.
There is no hill or mountain we can climb.
And every day he wakes up to thesame song over and over again.
(02:58):
And this is how my life was at one point.
You know,
same emptiness, same anxiety, feelinglike I was spinning my wheels.
I was working at a job that just there,it was basically a dead end job, and
I didn't, um, didn't really have manyaspirations, many dreams anymore.
(03:26):
I'd kind of given up.
But there was a time when I was on fire.
I remember just before this happened, likeI was, I was writing, writing my, my first
(03:47):
book that actually never got finished.
I think it got to about 90% done.
And like I was so exciting inthe proce, excited in the process
as I was going through it.
And once I got to the editing portion,
I just kept on re-editing it,re-editing it, re-editing it,
(04:09):
and it got worse and worse andworse until I finally put it down.
I was chasing that dream.
But.
When it got too much and I thought,okay, so well, I'll start another book
until I can get EXP inspired again.
And I got to 60% of that.
And I put that down.
(04:33):
I was in a job that I wasn'tinspired by what I wasn't.
I, the truth is I knew that I'msomebody who needs to help people,
but the job I was in wasn't great.
Uh, I wasn't reallyhelping too many people.
I wasn't really making adifference in the world.
And so I pretty much gave up.
(04:57):
I was eating too much,wasn't exercising enough.
I had no real interest,no creative outlet.
I,
and I didn't have many friends anymore.
(05:21):
I remember a friend of mine at one time,'cause she'd met me five years before
when I was really, really a low place.
And then she'd see me climb outtathe mud and I was back in the mud
and she said something really coolto me, um, which really stung.
(05:42):
She said, Kimon, I love you.
But I met you five years ago and you areexactly in the same place you are now.
And if you don't do something,
I could come back in five moreyears and you be in the same place.
I love you, but you gotta do something
(06:07):
because you know, part of me knew deepdown inside there was more to this life.
Like I had a purpose that therewas something I was here for.
But a portion of me, through tryingand failure, trying and failure
was giving up.
(06:27):
Like felt like I'll never really makeit to where I need to be in this life.
I,
and I just didn't knowhow to get that back.
You know, maybe that'swhere you are right now.
Maybe you've been through aseries of upsets, which have
(06:48):
like knocked the wind outta you.
'cause that's how I felt.
I felt like I took up a gut blowand I just never got back up.
And I was staring at the ashes of allmy dreams thinking I wasn't good enough.
(07:09):
Or not knowing how I could find myway to the life, to the dream that
was inside just outta my reach.
But I found my way back
and I promise you you can too.
(07:31):
And today I wanna walk youthrough the steps that help me
and can help you.
Rediscover your spark.
One of the fastest ways to getyour spark back is to play again.
(07:53):
Think about it like what werethe things you loved as a child,
you know, before life got too serious,
was it playing, running?
Dancing building things,
pick one of them back up.
(08:16):
You know, way, way back.
One of my athletes was goingthrough a tough moment.
She was a runner.
She, she was injured and couldn't runright now, and she was pretty devastated.
And I asked her like, what do you have?
To fall back on whenrunning isn't going great.
(08:42):
And she looked up at me and she said,what do you got besides work, Kevin?
And I was like, Touche,I'm such a hypocrite.
I, and that's when I found a hobby.
And for me it was the, the initialhobby was photography, got a camera.
Started taking pictures of stills going,taking pictures of athletes, putting them
(09:07):
on social media, connecting with athletes,giving them the great pictures so they
could use them for their social media.
Yeah, kind of started a spark.
So like
if you don't quite have the spark in yourmain thing, C, what else do you have?
What else can you lean into?
(09:27):
It doesn't have to take a lot oftime, but just something, some kind
of a creative outlet, somethingthat gets you moving, something that
brings a little joy in your life
and you pick up.
You don't have to pick up what you're goodat and don't pick up something because
(09:48):
it makes money, but just something thatmakes you feel alive, makes you feel.
Like you, you're accomplishing something.
And if nothing comes to mind,try something brand new.
You know,
(10:08):
go to a museum, pick up a guitaror sign up for a cooking class.
Joy doesn't always return inthe same package, it left.
And sometimes your sparkhides in unexpected places.
Here's a quote, or ignite yourjoy by returning to activities
(10:32):
you loved as a child or tryingnew ones purely for enjoyment.
when our sparks gone, we forgethow to be alive, how to be
inspired, how to laugh, how to fun.
We just live in monotone existence andmaybe at first we have to get away from
(10:55):
what, not get away from what we love.
We can still be doing it, going throughthe motion, but then we need to find
somewhere else to ignite another partof us, which will start igniting other
parts until it gets to our main thing.
So one of the things you really needto do in order to get your spark
(11:17):
back, and a lot of times when you'velost your spark, you're missing out
on nurturing your mind and your body.
Your body and mind are soilwhere your spark grows.
If the soil is dry, nothing flourishes.
Start with movement.
(11:39):
Say if you're, if you're so paralyzed,start moving, walk, run, cycle.
Get outside into nature.
I mean, just experiencing nature andlike if you're a runner and you're
running on the road, well then go intothe trails, go into the trees, but don't
just go through the motion being in thetrees, breathe the air, look around.
(12:03):
Really experience that time in nature.
The thing is when we, when we loseour sparks, sometimes it might
be 'cause we're really exhausted.
Maybe we, we've started somethingnew or maybe we've gone through
(12:24):
a succession of injuries, so,
and now we're pushing back, butwe're not checking in to see how
we're feeling and maybe we're tired.
So you gotta remember thatrest is, is equally important
to getting out in movement.
(12:45):
And sometimes the spark goes outbecause you're exhausted, maybe
mentally, emotionally, or physicallymaybe even fighting so hard for so long
that you just need toslow down, slow your mind.
Slow your body.
(13:08):
Listen to your favoritemusic, crank it up loud, sing.
See if you can create
daily rituals that bring you backinto the present moment and what
that might be like for myself.
Now what I'm doing right now,um, I'm coming back from injury
(13:32):
and I get up in the morning.
Pretty early.
I get up at five and I pour coffee and Isit on the couch without any distraction
and I just come into the present.
I wake up before I get active.
(13:55):
Some people will try morning journalingstretches a gratitude P practice.
If you can start beingconsistent, consistent,
consistent
(14:18):
with finding your joy, consistentwith your routine, consistent
with your rest, consistency buildsmomentum, and actually momentum is
what will bring back the energy.
Here's another quote for you.
(14:38):
When you reach the end of your rope,tie a knot and hang on Thomas Jefferson.
So in order to reallybring back a. You're smart.
The first thing you have to do, of course,is acknowledge everything that's going on.
I did an episode called Recklessoptimism, and reckless optimism
(15:02):
is not toxic positivity.
It's just acknowledge everythingthat's going wrong and then
you choose to be PO positive.
Anyway,
see, when I was really living in.
This sparkless phase when it,when my spark was gone, I lived
(15:27):
in incredible and negativity.
I was obsessing overeverything that went wrong,
and the shift came when I startedwatching for how things were changing.
When I started, first I started moving,then I started getting involved.
(15:50):
I started laughing and I started noticingas I got consistent and I was getting
enough rest, that I was feeling better.
I was, I started to set some small goals,
and as I was accomplishing allthese small goals and watching
for all the improvements,
(16:12):
my brain started to rewire and itstarted to see possibility again.
Remember that the challengesyou face are not punishments.
They're in invitations to grow.
Like what you're going through isbuilding strength for a later time.
(16:35):
Everything has a purpose
and you really gotta work on limitingyour comparison, your journey's, yours.
Comparing your spark to someoneelse's will only dim your flame.
Everybody moves forward at their own rate.
(17:00):
So one of the other things youcan do is to definitely connect
with yourself and others,
and honestly, you don't haveto find your spark alone.
And I say that.
And the people that know me will knowthat I do a lot of stuff solo, but I do
have one person I run with every Sunday.
(17:22):
My buddy Dave, or right nowI can't run properly with.
So we still meet for coffee.
You know, try to surround yourselfwith people who inspire you, people
who remind you of who you are.
There's this, um, quote that I love.
(17:43):
It's like a true friend will learn thesong of your heart and sing it back
to you when you forget their words.
Go out and seek mentors, your,your teammates, friends who lift
you up instead of draining you.
If you've lost your spark.
(18:04):
Talk to somebody you know that'sgone through a moment that was
tough, and find out what they did.
I mean, you can.
You can mimic it untilyou find it yourself.
Find what works for you best,
but even more important, youwill never talk to anyone more
(18:24):
than you talk to yourself.
You'll never spend more time withanyone in this planet, in this lifetime
than you'll spend with yourself.
You gotta learn to beyour own best friend.
Understand that negativedialogue in your head.
It's an aspect of you, but it's notactually you, like you are actually,
(18:47):
like I say, the inner critic is thenegative conversation and the pause,
the positive, deliberate conversation.
You actually have to buildthis up and work it yourself.
But it'll start.
It'll start happening more and more.
The more you, the more you do it.
Consistency, the negative, thenegative part gets a hold of you.
(19:11):
Tell it not true and move forward.
Pump yourself up.
Be your own hype person.
For a lot of people,journaling will really help.
But don't forget that connectionisn't just outward with other people.
(19:34):
It's actually inward too.
It'll actually be really helpfulif you can reconnect with yourself.
Challenge your limiting beliefs.
Man, this is the most powerfulthing I've ever learned.
(19:55):
Is I do not accept my inner criticslimits anymore, and I do not accept
my outer crim critics limits.
I and I do not accept any limitthat comes into my mind, into my
(20:15):
space, any limit that's given to me.
Because like I used tobelieve I wasn't enough.
I wasn't good enough.
I wasn't smart enough.
I wasn't strong enough, andwhen I really buy, didn't like
bought into that conversation.
(20:37):
I was trapped,
not trapped by somebody else, but trappedby my own accepting of the inner critic.
Limiting beliefs are like glass ceilings.
(21:03):
They're only real if youstop pushing up against them.
There's a reason theycall it a breakthrough.
That is when you come up to a perceivedlimit and you push until it shatters and
you break through into a new way of being.
(21:26):
So I challenge you for now on from thisday forward for the rest of your life,
every time you catchyourself saying, I can't.
You can simply replace it.
What if I could
(21:49):
or say not true or say just watch me?
It really depends on who you are.
Your sparks often buriedunder layers of false beliefs.
You start peeling 'em back one by one.
We are onions.
Question your limiting beliefs.
(22:12):
Keep on peeling the back 'cause underneathone of them, you're gonna find it again
and never forget that what you believe isgonna shape your experience of this life
and you don't have to believe it.
(22:35):
Another thing you can do isdo something just for you.
You know, people say,oh, the selfish, but no.
There's a reason why the airplaneteaches the mom to put on the mask first.
It so you can, they cantake care of the children.
(23:00):
You need to fill your cup upbefore you can fill others cups.
Like I am a fan of helping others, but I'ma bigger fan of helping yourself first.
One of the most important stepsis just give yourself permission
(23:23):
to enjoy life just as it is.
And not how you wish it was,
and give yourself permissionto fully enjoy it for the rest
of your life no matter what.
(23:43):
Do something daily that's justfor you, whatever that may be.
Maybe there's some you want toread, maybe you want to take
some time, listen to some music.
Maybe you're just gonna go fora walk garden, sing, paint,
anything that brings you joy.
Find something like, literally listento your favorite music in the morning
(24:06):
and on your way out the house.
Don't walk.
Dance.
Fun is not a luxury.
It's fuel for your spirit.
Reclaim your inner child.
They're sitting backthere, they wanna laugh.
They want to have fun.
If they're full of tears, you gotta letthose tears out until you can get them
(24:27):
back to joy, because have you ever noticeda child, child is going along, falls down
and it cries so dramatically and letsit all out, and then three minutes later
they're laughing and playing again and we.
Something happens terrible in ourlives and we fall down and we go
and we cry and we go, woe is me.
And like shouldn't cry.
(24:48):
And like, oh man, that's like, I'mshould be tough and like, and we just go
through it forever compared to a child.
A child just experiences it letsit out and then moves on to next.
Be like a child, you know?
You gotta feel what you feel when you'refeeling it and you gotta feel your way
all the way through it, right to the end.
(25:10):
Because the freedom will befound in the feeling, and you'll
wanna get your spark back.
You have to allow yourself a moment atthe bottom so you can get back to the top.
And the spark does not come from morepressure, it comes from more play.
(25:31):
Okay, let's bring it all together.
So how do you get your spark back?
You re rediscover your passions.
You nurture your mind,your body, and your spirit.
Practice gratitude.
Set small goals.
Surround yourself with inspiring people.
(25:52):
Lift them up.
They'll lift you up.
Challenge all your limiting beliefs.
Feel what you feel when you'refeeling it and feel your way
all the way through it once.
There's only so much of that inthere, and if you're avoiding feeling
it, it's just gonna stay in place
(26:18):
and most of all, give yourselfpermission to live with joy again.
It is not about flipping a switch.
It's not gonna, it might not, and I don'teven want you to be limited by that.
Maybe it is for you.
Maybe there's this magicalsh shift that'll happen.
Boom, and you'll be back.
But typically it might not be about that.
(26:39):
So if you're using that as this thingto be upset about, don't, it's gonna
take as long as it's gonna take, butit's not gonna take a second more.
It's just like.
If you think about it, if you'veever been injured and it feels
like it's lasting forever, it'snot getting any better, but it is.
(26:59):
You know, everything is getting mini justminutely better every moment of every day.
But it happens so slow.
It takes a long time.
Before we realized the shiftin my practice, sometimes I'm
like, okay, so how's that injury?
And they're like, oh, I haven'tthought about it for like.
Like seven days or two weeks.
It's like that's how it works.
(27:21):
It's all changing.
It's all getting better all the time.
So if you can focus on how it'schanging and not how it's the same,
you might start reigniting that spark.
'cause your spark's not gone.
It's just waiting for you.
(27:44):
I guess we're at the end again.
Hey, thank you for joining metoday on your Inner Advocate.
Hey, if today's episode spoke to you,
I want to re remind you thatyou're not broken, you're not
behind, and you're not too late.
You're right on time.
(28:05):
You are a spark waiting T night.
Thank you for spending this time with me.
If it helped, please shareit with another person.
So maybe they can gettheir spark back too.
And remember, your bestdays aren't behind you.
They're waiting for you.
Have a great one.
(28:26):
Thank you for listening to this episodeof Your Inner Advocate, a podcast by
Kimen Petersen, formerly Conversationswith Kimen if you found value in
today's episode, please follow likeand share the podcast with someone
who you think may benefit from it.
You can listen on Apple Podcast.
Spotify, Podbean, and connect onInstagram @ your inner advocate.
(28:50):
Until next time, keep listening toand developing your inner advocate.
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