MSS #0138: When the Fire Goes Out – Finding Your Spark Again

MSS #0138: When the Fire Goes Out - Finding Your Spark Again

30 Aug, 2025

🕒Read time: 3.5 minutes

Read time: 3.5 minutes
🚀 In a hurry? Skip to “5 Ways to Reignite the Spark” for a reduced reading time of 1.5 minutes.

There are times when the energy just isn’t there.
You’re not overwhelmed. You’re not panicking. You’re just… flat.

You’re doing the things. Showing up.

But the spark that used to pull you forward has gone quiet.

This week is about how to notice that before it drifts too far and how to begin, gently, to bring it back.

The Quiet Drift

When motivation fades, it’s rarely dramatic. It’s a quiet drift.

You stop looking ahead. You stop caring quite as much.
Things feel greyed out. You start asking:

• “What’s the point?”

• “Is this it?”

• “Where did the fire go?”

This isn’t burnout in the classic sense. It’s flatness.
You’re not failing – but you’re no longer feeling.

This isn’t a crisis. But it’s not nothing. And if you don’t acknowledge it, it can quietly harden into apathy or disconnection.

5 Ways to Reignite the Spark

You don’t need to force a breakthrough.

But you do need to invite energy back in – in small, real-world ways.

1. Shrink the Window of Focus
Long-term questions can feel heavy when energy is low.
So don’t ask “What am I doing with my life?”
Try “What would feel genuinely useful or satisfying this week?”
Bring the focus in close enough to act.

2. Make Something – Even If It’s Rubbish
When your spark dims, expression helps more than consumption.
Scribble. Sketch. Record a voice note. Write a terrible paragraph.
It doesn’t need to be meaningful. It just needs to be yours.
That small creative output wakes up a part of you that’s been sidelined.

3. Do One Thing That Isn’t Measured or Compared
Try something you’re not expected to be good at.

Something with no outcome attached.
This frees you from proving anything and reconnects you with the part of yourself that explores without pressure.
The spark often lives where the stakes are low.

4. Name the Bit You’ve Gone Numb To
When energy fades, it’s rarely about everything being off.
It’s usually just one part of your life, work or week that has quietly gone stale – but because it hasn’t been named, it spreads.

This works because:

• Once you pinpoint the bit that feels lifeless, you stop generalising the whole experience

• Naming gives you a lever – a specific tension you can work with

• It breaks the fog and helps separate discomfort from disconnection

Try asking yourself:

• “What do I now do on autopilot that used to matter to me?”

• “Where do I keep showing up but feel least connected?”

• “What part of my day or work feels like it no longer fits who I’ve become?”

You don’t need to fix it instantly – just bring it into view. Clarity clears space.

5. Stop Waiting to Feel Ready
This is a trap many thoughtful people fall into:

• “When I feel more motivated, I’ll act”

• “When I’ve worked out what this means, I’ll move”

• “When I have more energy, I’ll re-engage”

But waiting reinforces inertia.

The longer you wait for clarity, the heavier the next move feels.

This works because:

• Small action creates movement – and movement resets emotional chemistry

• You generate evidence that something is happening – and that in itself becomes motivating

• You shift from rumination to momentum

How to use this practically:

• Set a 15-minute timer for something small and just begin – no expectations
  “I’ll tidy this one drawer.”

  “I’ll write for 15 minutes.”

  “I’ll go for a walk until the timer ends.”

• Change your physical position or location – move to another room, step outside, stand up

• Choose a friction-free first step – not the most important one, just the easiest next move
  The goal isn’t achievement. The goal is to interrupt the stillness and let your system breathe again.

Summary

When the spark disappears, it doesn’t mean something is broken. It means your energy needs redirecting.

• Flatness is a natural part of emotional rhythm

• Trying to think your way out often adds to the weight

• Focus small. Move something. Make something

• Don’t over analyse – just break the stillness gently

• Motivation often follows motion, not the other way round

See you next week. One more thought 👇

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That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, really hope this helped. Contact me if you think I can help you further at [email protected].

Happy thinking.