With all that’s happening in this world, it’s not surprising that many people are struggling with finding motivation, purpose and self-worth. People are generally created with an innate desire to work; and from that comes pride and value. However, businesses are closing, and jobs are not paying well due to the lack of qualified people actually wanting to work. All of this leads to a very distraught and frustrated disposition.
At one point in my career, I was hired at a very tight security company that spent up to nine months to do a thorough background check. During this time, all us new hires awaiting clearance were put in what they called “The Leper Colony”. We were paid to come to work and sit at a desk in the colony and just sit until it was time to go home. At first, I thought, “Wow this is awesome! I’m getting paid to count M&M’s and read books!” And sure, the leisure and absence of work was tremendous…for about 30 days. Then I began to feel myself slipping in to this “what’s the point” attitude. I just needed SOMETHING to do. I actually saw people quit their job before they got their clearance because they couldn’t handle the boredom. Keep in mind, this is pre-internet–so we had no social media, emails or surfing to keep us occupied. We were limited to cards, books and sleeping.
While working from home seemed awesome at the inception of the pandemic, some folks are now finding themselves missing the social interaction with fellow employees.
I realize that not everybody is wired the same way. Some people may be perfectly fine with the new arrangements for work. But even despite those different perspectives on work, many other influences may be bringing us down.
I believe the single most important element in living a healthy life is simply BALANCE. The thing to remember about balance is that it’s not something you try to achieve, then coast. Our circumstances are always undergoing change, and it’s essential to adjust our balance as factors emerge, vanish, increase or lessen. It’s a constant state of shifting to the new situation. I wrote a blog several months ago called “Pivot” in which I expressed the need to be able to change with our circumstances, and it expresses similar realities.
One friend shared with me that he felt it was taking too long to get back to “normal.” A grim awareness was dawning on him that quite possibly, his previous “normal” was not going to return.
On the other hand, what people now call the “new normal” doesn’t strike me as anything new. Sure, it might be happening faster and more intensely right now, but I’d like to remind you that we have all gone through major changes before–and got through them just fine. I’ve survived two of the major traumatic experiences a person can go through in their life: divorce and losing a Job. They equally sucked. But talk about MAJOR changes…it doesn’t get much harder than those two, and yet we survive…we pivot…we find new ways to handle our new circumstances.
We need to find a new spot on the wall to stare at. While our changed world may be painful, we cannot afford to implode or acquiesce to depression.
Unfortunately, many others are experiencing the same torment you might be going through. So if you’re waiting for someone to throw you a lifesaver, you might be treading water for some time. Don’t become overwhelmed with self-loathing and miss the opportunity to be a support for someone else around you. Often times a great way to get out of YOUR funk is to help someone else get out of theirs.
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
– Philippians 2:3