The Importance Of Going With The Flow - and How Little Actions Make Big Impacts

Does trudging through your day sound familiar?

A client told me that she had zero motivation for school-a program that she had been excited to start.

My kids make fun of me for going to be at 8:30. True story. And it’s happened more than a few times. I’m not sick, I’m just exhausted.

Friends & colleagues have shared that they just can’t concentrate.

Nothing could’ve prepared us to still be under the weight of this pandemic.

AND your experience & the way you feel is no less real or “valid” if you haven’t been directly impacted by the virus. I’m not letting you get away with that. We’re all experiencing collective grief & loss in a way we never have before.

A NY Times article this week suggests that what we’re feeling is languishing.

“Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield...

It’s the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being. You don’t have symptoms of mental illness, but you’re not the picture of mental health either. You’re not functioning at full capacity. Languishing dulls your motivation, disrupts your ability to focus, and triples the odds that you’ll cut back on work”.

If you’re feeling any of this, you’re NOT alone. And you’re NOT abnormal.

You’re human-having a human experience the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

What is so desperately needed right now is patience & care for ourselves.

The NYT article suggests that doing something that gets you into flow-which means to get lost in an activity & let go of thoughts.

Remember in the beginning of the pandemic...doing things like puzzles, baking bread, or cleaning out closets? That’s what we’re talking about. A meaningful project that helps you lose track of time & immerse in what you’re doing.

If you’ve been with me for any amount of time, you know I’m a HUGE advocate for self care. I’d consider these kinds of projects self care. So is getting out in nature, sharing with a trusted friend, watching something that makes you LAUGH, taking in a sunset, resting, or putting your feet in the grass or the ocean to name a few ideas.

Whatever brings you back to you. Do that. Then do it again & again & again...

We will get through this.

Comment down below & let me know if this hits home for you AND what you’re going to do to bring in more flow.

With so much love,

Jen

P.S. If what you’re experiencing feels like more than just languishing-if you’re feeling depressed or hopeless please reach out for help. Go here for resource suggestions from the Centers For Disease Control (CDC)