Kathy Cunningham
Opinion:
How are you? Really. It's been a while and I am interested. How are you feeling? How are you coping? How are you doing?
Have you been motivated to finish that big project around the house, generate new business or go for that promotion, train for that half marathon, weed the garden and help your children pass exams — sometimes simultaneously?
Or, have you been distracted at home, stressed at work and can't find solace in social media any more? Are you tired and feel like you are not able to finish a task or sometimes even complete a sentence?
Join the club — actually, this is not a club I wish to be a member of anymore. This club does not offer any benefits and is dragging me down.
This club is called languishing. Languishing is the opposite of flourishing. If you feel like you are in survival mode and doing what were mundane tasks that now feel like you are climbing Mount Tongariro, you are not alone.
The lethargy is lethal and very real. As languishing is described as a series of emotions, it feels like you are going through the motions only with less energy and enthusiasm and sometimes stressed or numb. A usually bubbly, happy person can now feel neutral about life in general.
Where is the joy in that?
To find the joy and to get my energy back, I am focused on several daily rituals that include a morning walk with Toby along the awa, stating out loud what I am grateful for and writing a short list of tasks that will be accomplished each day.
It's amazing how 30 minutes in nature can change your outlook. Just this morning, I was admiring the songs tui sing in the flax, the variety of colours in the nearby flowers, the smell of just mown grass and the peacefulness of our stroll. I immediately felt lighter.
Giving myself permission to take a break is also significant as I like to work. But I need to rest as well. I just found a good book of fiction after scanning several business books and as trying to read three books at once wasn't working, I'm now focused on one. I nap while I read which is also a bonus!
Ideas and inspiration are returning and I feel refreshed and this is only after I've been doing this for a short time. I am also in touch with friends by calling, texting, Zoom or Facetime. Staying connected is important and adds to my feelings of wellbeing.
My confidence is returning and I just completed studying for my APR which is the global benchmark in public relations that is administered by PRINZ on behalf of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management.
This study was significant since I had not done so in decades and I am so pleased with the ways I am currently thinking after the research and writing I have done.
Benjamin Franklin asked himself every morning, "What good shall I do this day?" I love this and am doing the same.
The great thing about this question is that it opens us up to all possibilities. It could be rescuing a dragonfly from impending death, hand delivering a thank you note, calling a friend in need, going to the store for a neighbour. Or, it could be something random that you had not planned and those are the best!
Asking friends, family, colleagues and neighbours how are you is the right question today. If you wish to ask yourself "what good shall I do today?", ask that question and know that every good leader and every great friend will want to know the answer.