Languishing is very real. And the best place you can start from is to acknowledge it is.
You might not yet be able to get out of this state, this weird absence of mental health, but self-awareness is always the first step towards something better.
Doing (without interruption) and connecting (with the intent to share) are great second steps, whenever you are ready.
Having a path to follow, something you dedicate time consistently, does not mean you will not have doubts.
There will be times when you will question your choices. There will be plenty of alternatives. There will be many reasons why you should change. Actually, there will only be rare occasions when you will feel completely convinced that what you are doing is exactly what you should be doing.
Unless your doubts turn into pain – physical or emotional -, or unless they prove real – with data or facts to support them -, the best thing you can do with it is embrace it. Doubt is part of doing. More often than not, it tells you are on the right path. It can be additional motivation.
You can’t eradicate doubt, so try to make friends with it.
Do something because you want to try.
Because you want to start a new habit, because it is a thing you might like, because you know that somebody will feel better. Do something because you are running out of time or because you have too much time on your hands. Do it because it makes sense, because it is the right thing to do, because you know you can handle it. Or perhaps to test yourself, to stretch your skills and build new muscles. Do something when you have nothing to do, when you have too much to do, when you feel down, and when you feel energetic.
But never do because you expect someone to do something in return.
That’s just not how it works.
Feeling ineffective is very different from feeling worthless.
Being down is not the same as being miserable.
If someone irritates us, it’s not the same as if they would enrage us.
When we feel regret for a situation, that does not make the situation humiliating.
Language is made of shades. And when it comes to emotions, in particular, being able to verbalize the different levels of intensity can make the difference between seeing options and getting lost.
We can get better at expressing how we feel, and this vocabulary of emotions by Ed Batista is a fantastic tool for that.
How are you feeling today?
Don’t work for people you don’t want to become. (cit. Shane Parris)
Also, don’t date, don’t hang out with, don’t support people you don’t want to become. Those in our circles set the tone for the environment we live in. We have values and principles we aim to stick to, and we are better off when the people we invite on the journey aim to stick to them as well.
Find the examples, foster the relationships, and treasure the opportunities.
Those are the connections that make it all worth it.
You've got this 