Throughout life, there will be times we’ll feel disconnected from ourselves. Perhaps we’re burnt out from work and other obligations, barely finding time to be still with ourselves. Or maybe we’re battling poor mental health, anxiety, or even depression, causing overwhelm and emotional detachment.

While researching ways to reconnect with myself after a particularly stressful year, health-wise, I stumbled upon this Reddit post, titled simply: “How do you get your spark back?”

While losing your “spark” might be common, it’s an awful experience to endure. Thankfully, there are some ways to return home to yourself. Here are eight tips to get your spark back, from Redditors who’ve been there themselves.

1. Set Achievable Goals

“I find it fulfilling to be working towards something, even if it’s a personal goal such as learning how to bake cakes, as well as socializing with strangers.” — u/Fishy_Sezer

2. Feed Your Nostalgia

“Everyone has an inner key, usually something from childhood… A happy memory, no matter how small. A cake you ate and loved? Bake it. Music you heard on the record player? Listen to the vinyl or hear it live. If something meant enough to you for you to remember, feed it. Nostalgia? Yes, it seems tacky… but it’s the fastest path to a spark you thought you’d lost.” — u/TCNZ

3. Spend Time With Yourself and Your Hobbies

“I had lost my spark just by being worn out by life in general, and unexpectedly got it back during the pandemic lockdown, where I was forced to sit and do nothing for three months. I rediscovered my hobbies, and honestly, I was the happiest I had ever been in my adult life.

“I think work, bills, responsibilities, and partaking in made-up systems created by society just drains you. I think taking a long break and focusing on things you love usually does the trick for me.” — u/sneezingfeathers

4. Find Joy in the ‘Little Things’

“Try to see the overwhelming beauty behind it all. It’s like a hidden secret … there all the time, but hiding in plain sight. Once you find this, life can spring inside once more, as it’s the answer to the question of depression.” — u/Going_Solvent

5. Practice Gratitude

“Stop taking things for granted, appreciate and have gratitude for everything, stop draining your dopamine with substances, and spend more time in nature and exercise more. These actions will give you your spark back by changing your perspective and making you feel better.” — u/onceuponatime28

6. Learn and Create

“I find passion for life through learning. When life starts to lose its luster, I dig into something I don’t know much about and start to learn.

“Also, I found [that] creating things helps keep my brain ignited. Art, building stuff, painting stuff, music stuff. All of it.” ” — u/Iguessimnotcreative

7. Explore and Play

“Exploring new things has made me happy recently. I have been traveling to new places, socializing with new people at places like spas, playing video games with my husband that I’ve never played before, which seems to be a lot of fun.” — u/Vegetable-Two5164

8. Commit to Your Own Excitement and Happiness

“You have to choose to want it back and then take action to reengage it. Nothing will change if you just walk around wondering where it went. You are in a relationship, just like any other, with the universe and physical reality. If you are just wandering around asking why your partner isn’t exciting you anymore, it might be time to take a look in the mirror and ask yourself why it is that YOU aren’t excited anymore. There is plenty to be excited about. You just have to pick something and try it. If that’s not the thing that excites you, pick something else and try it. Repeat until excitement sparks.” — u/Sammovt