It is September. Summer holidays are over. Getting back into routine or finding a new one after six weeks of relaxation is not easy. Maybe they were not the best of times because of the British weather. One young friend of mine has just started at a new school full of enthusiasm and excitement but also some fear – “I don’t know where anything is”. Another friend is just off to university and is beside himself with anticipation. He is a creative so there is lots of new interesting kit. Parents are having to deal with changes and without a handbook feeling their way into this new phase. For some, especially the parents there can be a feeling of “what do I do now”. Good luck to all of them.

Of course I have been besotted by sport. First it was the Olympics and now in September the last few days of the Paralympics. My word, the skills of the athletes are incredible.

The two sets of games have been fantastic and so as a person who loves sport I am having a ball. Taking part is extraordinary and we should never take that for granted. To be the top performer in your country and be picked to be an Olympian or Paralympian is an amazing feat and should always be celebrated. To get to a final is a wonderful performance and no one will ever take that away from those people. It is the peak of their careers. If they are then in the top three and medal that is almost unbelievable.

What else am I thinking about?

I call it the slump. That feeling of letting go after something is achieved before getting ready to go again. If whatever we did was not as successful as we wanted we have to deal with that and then decide how and when we go again. There is also a slump after we are successful. We may have prepped, rehearsed and gone for whatever and then we do it. There is elation and then there is the slump – the “done that so is there anywhere I want to go?”

The slump can take so many forms depending on what our day job is.

There are slumps caused by completing something at a given event like an exam or an event at the Olympics or Paralympics. Then there are those where we have had targets and suddenly whatever it might be, is done. A good example is being an actor. First of all there are the various stages of rehearsal; then previews when they are still working on the piece; then opening night bringing everything together; then there is the run – motivating themselves to give eight performances six days a week. Lifting oneself to perform for an audience where this is their first time, not the ninety fifth time.

So in all these different situations how do we deal with and get out of the slump and go again?

The ones I feel most sorry for are the Olympic and Paralympic athletes. It is so public for them. Just as they have competed someone is sticking a microphone in their faces asking how they feel and what comes next. I am surprised they are so polite. Let’s take as an example Brock Whiston, the Para swimmer. Last Friday she won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke. All she could say to the interviewer in her highly emotional state was “I have let everyone down” and the poor woman kept on saying it, reinforcing the feelings. The interviewer handled it well and told her what a wonderful thing a silver medal was but Brock was having none of it. I am not sure how her self-talk changed or what her coach’s input was, but forty-eight hours later she won a gold medal in the 200m individual medley. Somehow she had managed to negotiate a very severe emotional slump and go again.

I am sure this happens to you. You set yourself a target and it does not always come off. You feel awful, a complete failure – which you are not. You think about it all the time. You dissect what happened. The slump is deep and depressing. How do you deal with it when your get up and go has got up and gone! It might be the last thing on earth that you want to do.

Saying you have to start again is not the answer. How often does your subconscious say, “oh no I don’t”. Our subconscious always tries to protect us and if it thinks it is too hard it prevents us starting.

Of course there is also the slump after success. The athlete might have planned and prepared every step of the way but they never prepare for the gold medal. How do they handle that enormous moment? There is huge elation as they do the lap of honour and in those first few days eating what they want and partying hard; then the moment comes when they have to start thinking ahead. The slump comes and all the questions. Been there, done that so what is next? Or what is it all for?

So what do I do and advise others to do.

First of all work through the emotional minefield, get it out of your system. Then start to analyse. Learn the lessons of what you have achieved and celebrate. Is it a dance? A meal? Have a celebration ceremony. Even if not perfect you have achieved. I buy myself flowers – no calories!

The next thing is to form a support team and talk to those who understand. Few of us work completely alone. Athletes are fortunate they are in the athletes’ village, with their peer group and they are all a part of the greater team. Talking, processing, understanding what happened can be the way through it. Listening to other people’s viewpoints can help you reframe the picture. Use your network. Allowing others to inspire you to go again because you have drafted them into your support team. You may have to fake it until you make it but the inspiration will come.

If you have a mentor, someone like me, turn to us, share the slump and let us rewind your clockwork.

Another tip is feed off other people’s energy. When you are with people who excite you wonderful positive energy is generated. Take it home with you and convert it into action. An example would be this. Lots of people go and see a prospective client and come away all fired up to write a stunning proposal for the work. They are excited. Then they get back to their workplace and for whatever reason put the papers to one side. Then there is never the right moment to pick up those notes and make something of them. The longer they leave it the higher the mountain and the deeper the slump. So try this: as soon as you get back and are buzzing with all that intellectual energy that the meeting generated get it into words. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. It does not matter how rough the first draft is just get it out of your head. The first draft is the most difficult. Editing is easy.

So have you achieved something recently? Have you experienced the slump? Do you need some help to go again? To find the next priority? For you it will not be an Olympic medal but in your life it will be just as huge.
It may well be that you cannot do this on your own. It can be really hard to evaluate the options. Then let me help you. Please talk to me. We can talk about your business, where you are with it, what you want from it and your life. I love speaking with people, off the meter, to help them explore possibilities and whether/how to take them forward. I hope you will be one of them.

In the meantime, enjoy the amazing stories coming out of Paris. Imagine the work, the commitment needed just to be there and part of the spectacle. The athletes’ decision is to go again or not, investing their next four years to get to Los Angeles.