It's time to move on.

I don’t know about you, but having gone through the first lockdown unscathed, I found that the second one that lasted from November through to March really pulled me down.

I’m not saying that it made me depressed because I wasn’t close to that, but it certainly drained me of some of my enthusiasm.

Apparently, it’s not been uncommon. Many people have gone through the same thing. It’s felt a bit like treading water, still trying to plod on but feeling as though you’re getting nowhere.

I was reading the other day that the feeling has a name. It’s called languishing. It’s apparently become the dominant emotional state of 2021. I have to say, it’s certainly pulled the motivation and focus out of me.

I’m a dreamer, I’ve always got things that I want to do and I’m always working toward something, and that’s why I’ve felt as though I’ve been walking around in a bit of a fog since the turn of the New Year.

The thing is, if you’re at this stage, you have to try and pull yourself out of it or find ways to alleviate the feelings because if you don’t it’s a possibility that that downward spiral can continue and drag you toward depression.

It’s safe to say that for many of us, each day had drifted into another and all that uncertainty has pulled us down. It's felt as though we're in a void and that we've suffered to maintain focus.

However, there is a way out of it. For many of us, going back to work will be the start. Mind you, that can pull us down too after being at home all the time. Lethargy can make it harder to get back into that groove.

Doing meaningful work is definitely a way out of it. It will give your mind something to focus on, to do. Trying to see the lighter side of life can help too. For me, turning off the news on the telly helped. Starting a new hobby can help as well, or finding a new challenge that will excite you.

If you’re thinking about a new challenge, don’t worry about failing. Often when we're trying to accomplish a new thing, our steps don’t always go right (and often they don’t).

If you’ve been following me or reading my posts, you’ll know that I’ve failed a fair few times at projects I’ve attempted. I always look back to my Mum’s advice over the years to help me and she would often tell me not to look back in regret, but to move on to the next thing.

And that’s so true because if you don’t fail, it really means that you’re not trying; stepping out of your comfort zone. Failure teaches you more than you realize.

And each time you fail something, however small, if you look at it the right way, it’s a stepping stone forward. You can learn from it and use that lesson to propel you onward.

And that’s how I feel at the moment. I’ve got one foot out of the fog of languishing and I’m working my way toward a project that I’d put by the wayside because of the pandemic and I’ve started making steps to see whether I can take it forward.

Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. It doesn’t matter which way it goes really, because the one thing I won’t be left with is regret.

And I’m pretty sure that I’d regret not trying more than I would by failing because at least in failing, you know you gave it a shot. Another lesson is learned. And who knows, success is also a possibility. 

The thing is, if you don't try, you'll never know, and you end up looking back wondering whether it would have worked. That gnaws away at you. I know that from experience.

I truly believe that the obstacles in life are what makes you. The overcoming of obstacles big and small give you an enormous sense of well-being.

You have the choice. You know which one is the right one for you. And no one else has the right to judge you for the choices you make.

For me, however, I’ve looked at starting up two new businesses over the last 5 years, neither of which has come to fruition. I’ve been down at times when I feel as though I’ve wasted so much time.

But is it really a waste? In doing the research for those two projects, I became more knowledgeable and picked up valuable hints and tips that can be applied in whatever I do in the future.

And even though I felt down when I decided I wouldn’t take the project further, it still made me feel good inside that I still have things I want to achieve.

And at this moment in time, I’m back on my path. I’m on my way out of that languishing phase that so many of us have had of late.

My hope is that if you’ve been there with me, that you find something or have something in mind that’s going to help you leave it behind and bring your feeling of enthusiasm and excitement back.

It could be getting a new hobby that does it. It could be planning your next holiday. Maybe, it’s finding a new job or even starting your own business.

Whatever it is, it’s time to try the next thing and leave that languishing feeling behind.

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