I try to write these, thinking abt what’s going on in my own personal life…& if I’m able to gain any clarity, pass on learnings from both my own hiccups & experiences.
I’ve been getting very frustrated the last wk. My brain hasn’t been as clear – at all. I don’t feel nearly as productive as “usual.” It’s manifested in a # of ways: my work product seems to be suffering/unable to multitask or go as quickly from one project to the next. In my personal life, I find myself dragging – on the couch, feeling like things are tasks, avoiding what I typically enjoy doing.
It’s that “languishing” feeling discussed before, but to a whole new level.
When I get this way, my natural tendency is to start bugging: “What if I’m stuck like this?…never bounce back?…I’m doing things at such a slow pace for the org…for my personal life…I’m falling BEHIND.”
Then, I had a great talk w my friend, a therapist. Here’s what he helped me realize: I’m here NOW, bc of what I was able to accomplish BEFORE. Energy has an ebb & flow.
Said another way: What I DID accomplish previously – I went 110% percent, & yes I felt super productive: got a lot done for the org, got to go out & see friends, traveled to playoff hockey games, got to see my fam on Father’s Day…but guess what? I was running on adrenaline to accomplish all THAT, & the pace I was going, wasn’t sustainable for that long.
Why’s this so impt now? Bc it dictates how I (we) can gain better perspective of how we feel, moving fwd, when we feel this “off.”
Instead of freaking out abt all we can’t do NOW, consider that we got MORE accomplished previously, than our body was capable of in a healthy & balanced way.
And why does that help? Bc then we can stop beating ourselves up, as those “hibernation” periods happen. We can look at productivity & accomplishment & immersing ourselves in life, not as “missing out.” But, instead, we borrowed from the last few wks/months, & now are having to replenish.
That mindset allows us to be ok, now, w being less productive/functional, which in turn, gets us “back” to where we want to be, more quickly.