What To Do When You Don’t Feel Like It
I often think that I should follow my gut. There are days when I just don’t feel like it. Feel like what, you ask. Well, I don’t feel like doing most things. They feel like they don’t serve me. I’m not really having fun at them. I can’t see how they fit into a bigger picture. As a matter of fact, sometimes, they even annoy me. So, should I stop doing them simply because I feel that way?
I’m fairly busy and have multiple things happening at any one point in my life. Currently, I’m finishing up a book; I started another collaborative book project at the beginning of last month; I’m in the midst of a writing “challenge” for myself; I’m growing a business; I’m active in my church; I’m a father who drives for the carpool; I’m a husband; I lead mastermind groups. I keep my calendar pretty filled. But, there are days where I just don’t feel like it. The question is, should I allow that to drive whether I perform those activities or not?
Well, let me dive a bit deeper.
Am I just tired or is there something about a specific activity that is REALLY getting me off center?
Am I growing increasingly agitated by this activity?
What feeling can I describe whenever this activity comes to mind?
What are my goals for performing this activity?
For some things, the honest truth is I’m just really tired. I absolutely adore my children. But, there are days when I just don’t “feel” like taking them to school. I have things to do and driving them to school takes a couple of hours out of my day that I don’t get back. But, when I sit down and analyze it, that is just energy depletion. Now, the question becomes, how do I increase the energy?
There are other activities where I feel tense in just thinking about them. I was running a specific business mastermind. At first, I enjoyed it. But, it got to the point where I felt as if I was chasing people to attend the once-a-month meetings. That was a stressful feeling. At one point, every time I thought about the group, I sighed. I would sigh not because I was upset, but because I saw the potential value in this and felt like most of the others did not. We were at different places and honestly, it possible that I projected my goals on to the others in the group. Because of this, I had expectations of them which it might have been difficult for them to meet. In my mind, I took things a bit more seriously than they did. But, eventually, I had to apply the questions above to this activity. Once I removed tiredness from the equation and realized that the “feeling” remained the same, I made the decision to stop that activity.
Energy is important and it’s also an important clue. If an activity drains you, then it’s time for an energy review. (To be clear, I’m referring to mentally and emotionally draining and not physical.) In that review, put every activity through the paces:
What are your goals?
What best utilizes your strengths?
What helps you grow?
Does this energize me or deplete me?
If an activity doesn’t meet the targets you set AND it also tires you without you exerting any effort, then it may be time to let it go.
