"I am feeling 'meh', 'flat' or 'just not up to it". How many times do we feel this way? That 'BLAH' feeling you are having? It's called languishing. An article by The New York Times by organisational psychologist, Adam Grant, explores this very notion and gives you the antidote.
Adam Grant explains that often naming your emotions can help you to manage them. He recommends for those days when you do feel a bit flat, rather than saying 'I'm fine' replace it with 'Honestly, I am languishing.' This is a very interesting way to deal with periods of demotivation and flatness. Similar to dealing with grief, it is a healthy habit to accept what it is you are feeling first. We all have those days. When, for no reason, we feel unmotivated and a bit flat. We try to self-diagnose. What is causing this? Is it the weather? Is it my routine? We over analyse and self-criticise. Well, you are simply languishing. It doesn't feel so overwhelming when you say it like that.
Like with any emotion and/or feeling, the first step is to accept the human experience. Heck, even our smart devices run out of charge, and in many ways so do we. Accept the human experience of languishing, don't fight it but recognise it. Often when we dip low, we want to fight it. We want to be happy and energised all the time. However, if you were always happy and bursting with energy - how would you know you are happy and bursting with energy? Grant's article suggests that recognising and normalising this feeling not only helps you out but also identifies languishing as a common and shared feeling. Secondly, he presents a very interesting theory - 'the flow'.
"A concept called “flow” may be an antidote to languishing. Flow is that elusive state of absorption in a meaningful challenge or a momentary bond, where your sense of time, place and self melts away. During the early days of the pandemic, the best predictor of well-being wasn’t optimism or mindfulness — it was flow. People who became more immersed in their projects managed to avoid languishing and maintained their pre-pandemic happiness." - Adam Grant
SOLUTION
Create your 'flow' by immersing yourself in non-digital activities that stimulate the mind. A crossword puzzle, watch a documentary, take a break outside, listen to a podcast, learn something new. If you are at work, focus on the small goals, small wins to give the boost in order to rise out of your feeling of languish.
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