A bad day?
A bad week?
How do you get through it?
Me, I've had a strange six months.
In January, I got into a car accident going to the math lab at YSU. My fault.
Later in March, I had a mental breakdown during the exam and got a disappointing grade on a math exam. As I was walking outside looking at my notes. I studied I walk into a sign. A speed limit sign. I got in my car and thought I didn't get injured. But I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that I had a huge scar on my head.
Toastmasters
Moments later, I would be at Toastmasters meeting. And everybody noticed my scar. I'm somewhat private. And there I was in public and scarred.
Mojo
With these things happening I felt something was slipping away.
Do many of you know what mojo is?
Mojo means finding the magic and in what we do. To lose your mojo refers “to loss of inspiration or creative genius; a loss of that special spark.” And that was how I was feeling.
Fellow Toastmasters and honored guests. I want my mojo back.
According to answers.com, the word “mojo” has been around almost 100 years. One source says sites is use as early as 1926.
Movies-Austin Powers
In movies the term “mojo” was used in one of the Austin Powers movies starring Mike Myers is referred to it is a combination of all the right stuff that makes a man successful.
And isn't that what we all want a successful life.
A Friend
I have a friend who I hadn't seen or heard from for while. I sent him an e-mail. I got a reply from him saying he was having lack of motivation.
I, too. was feeling the same way. This friend is strong and his mojo will be back.
Even the strongest most powerful sexy confident people lose their mojo.
These moments of temporary Mojo loss can be attributed to a crisis or transitions such as loss of a loved one, lost romance, a health scare and other transforming experiences.
I feel that the lost of mojo is based on fear. Maybe, maybe you have felt fear in the sense of loss of who you are. Like being in quicksand when you are stuck and sinking.
Tyler Perry
Until about a week and a half ago, I still felt I didn't know where my mojo was. I was stuck and sinking.
Then I got an e-mail from Tyler Perry, the director of the popular movies, such as Madea goes to jail and various place.
Before he became famous; Perry had loss of mojo with failed plays to the point he was living in his car.
The e-mail was to his e-mail list which I'm a part of. The e-mail had a story.
Tyler and a friend were climbing at the Grand Canyon and Mr. Perry said “at one point in climbing, I was over steep drop it was tied to a safety rope, while buddy safety rope was tied to me. It was my responsibility to help him up, since I was bigger and way more. I told him, I'll hold onto you to help you up but if you start to pull me over with you, I'm going to untie this rope.”
A few days later he thought about that moment. How many times we are tied to something that keeps us down. Yet, we won't not untie the rope. Mr. Perry said sometimes it's time to untie the rope.
Fear
Fear can tie you down. It did for me. They told you about not doing well on an algebra exam and getting scarred.
On a trigonometry final, I had a hard time on. I was sure I would get a failing grade in the class. So much so, the grades are posted online. And I didn't look for almost 5 weeks. I kept trying to find the right date look.
So I prepare myself for the impending bad news. I had figured out how I would retake the class. And all these plans are more backup plans. To find the right day to look at my grades.
On weekends, I would say await Monday. On Mondays, I don't want to go to Toastmasters upset.
On Tuesday, I would be too busy cleaning or writing to check. On Wednesday, I was working on my newsletter. And with bad news I'd be too upset to work.
On Thursday, I would be doing the final draft of the newsletter and didn't want to be upset.
On Friday, the corrections from Michelle, the newsletters editor would keep me busy. Then I would not check because I would be hanging out with my dad later that day and I didn't want to be upset.
Getting Grades
Even though, I thought I prepare myself for the worst. Then one day, I was soon sitting in front of the computer. I was at the YSU website. I got my strength for a moment.
With an unsteady hand on the mouse. I clicked on the grades icon. The screen changed. The grades appeared. I couldn't believe it. I had two classes: advanced algebra and trigonometry. I looked again. My heart jumped. I looked again. And saw two Bs.
At that moment, I felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted off of me. Finally, I had untied the rope.
I read getting your mojo back is just refueling your emotional tank. My tank was near empty. When I learned about my grades. It felt like a gas tank in my emotional tank moved to one fourth of a tank.
How you get your mojo to a full tank or at least three quarters?
Make a focused effort to change the way you think about yourself.
Example: instead of instead of thinking Dud think Stud. That is for the Guys.
Example: for the ladies–instead of thinking from the pink beautiful.
Tune out the noise, TV news and what others think you should do with your life.
Guard your mind–be around people who are encouraging not discouraging.
Don't neglect your emotions–emotions are part of human nature. The harder you try to hide a feeling the more the filling will dominate your life.
Go to the movies in a theater. I went to go see bad teacher and laugh with a theater full of people is a great way to feel great.
Part of having your mojo is feeling great.
The New Normal
There is something called the new normal. The sooner you realize that what you have in front of you is the new normal, the happier you will be. Wishing him praying for the old days to return we do nothing but drag you down.
Actor John Wayne said courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.
We all don't know our own strength sometimes. But we can know our own mojo.
Shoelaces
I bought this shoelace it's my favorite color aqua. I tighten knots on the shoelace. When I need to do something or have fear. I taken not out. And hopefully soon it would look like this.
Closing
As for any of you who needs get back their mojo or if your mojo is good. Remember there is one way of getting back or maintaining your mojo. And all you have to do is untie the rope.
Given at the Toastmasters 408 meeting. June 27, 2011
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