I want to share something a little different in this post, and I hope you can relate. We are heading into another fall with the pandemic still hanging on. For me, the nebulousness of the situation is starting to get to me. How much longer will it or its effects last? We don’t know. We are all impacted, in some way, by closures and mandates and so on.
For me and my friends, clients, colleagues, and family, we’re making the best of it day by day. I had brunch with a friend recently, and she mentioned seeing an article in The New York Times about the lingering effects of the pandemic. The article labeled it as “languishing,” and that resonated with me. I LOVE my life, my work, my friends, and family; yet, it is feeling as though it’s not 100%. This is an excerpt from the article:
At first, I didn’t recognize the symptoms that we all had in common. Friends mentioned that they were having trouble concentrating. Colleagues reported that even with vaccines on the horizon, they weren’t excited about 2021. A family member was staying up late to watch National Treasure again even though she knows the movie by heart. And instead of bouncing out of bed at 6 a.m., I was lying there until 7, playing Words with Friends.
It wasn’t burnout—we still had energy. It wasn’t depression—we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: 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. And it might be the dominant emotion of 2021.

Do animals languish too?
Does this resonate with you? It really helped me to understand that it’s OK to not be 100% OK. How are you and your friends finding and sharing joy? Please let me know, either in the comments or by shooting me an email or a text (206-369-6240).
For me, I’m pushing through the “languishing” by keeping up with my most-loved activities—my golf game, meals with friends, traveling in what little way that I can. If you are feeling this way—languishing—please reach out and let’s talk about it! As I think I’ve mentioned before, the only way we’re going to get through this is together.