This feeling between depressed and flourishing lies a feeling of just, blah. The global pandemic heightened this feeling for a lot of people and in this 2-part series we’re using science to describe this feeling and why we’re feeling it. Then, we’ll look at an antidote to moving past this feeling and into what scientists call flow.   

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we are talking about the antidote for languishing.

What I love about this work by Adam Grant is that he believes the antidote to languishing is flow.  So, it may be hard to find flow in your work if you can’t focus because you are languishing, but he says, you could start, like him, with an early morning crossword puzzle or he mentions a Netflix binge where you are totally immersed with the characters. 

He describes flow as where you become immersed in a project, where you are singularly focused instead of being pulled away or checking email 782 times a day. 

Finding flow might be setting boundaries so that you can have uninterrupted time for a priority that matters to you.  The research indicates that protecting time where there are no interruptions will enhance our ability to find flow because it clears out distractions.  I do this every morning from about 6:30-8:00am, where I try so hard to not check email or social media and instead, be open to inspiration, to curate topics for this podcast.      

Sometimes flow can seem overwhelming and too big, so I invite you to focus on something small. What is one thing that makes you happy that you can focus on today without distraction, for as long or as little time you have.    

At the end of the day, as Grant points out, “We still live in a world that normalizes physical health challenges but stigmatizes mental health challenges. As we head into a new post-pandemic reality, it’s time to rethink our understanding of mental health and well-being.  Perhaps we start with languishing, where we’re just in the middle of feeling blah. 

I hope this was insightful and helpful for you.  If you enjoyed this episode, please smash that subscribe button, sign up to get this audio and transcript delivered to your inbox over at www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness 

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