Getting Up When Feeling Down: Leadership during your "blue period."

Okay, I've had a really rough weekend:
relationship problems, a highly unpleasant antibiotic-requiring illness, financial concerns, and having my cat put to sleep.

But today is Monday, and I've got students to work with and paperwork to handle. A huge, tired part of me wants to crawl into bed and spend the day pretending that life has an undo button, but taking on a leadership role means that your responsibilities to your organization come first. Honestly, if it were between my student group and taking care of my other priorities (like family and friends), I'd put my organization aside, but now it's just a question of whether I want to wallow in self-pity or get out and be somewhat useful to the world and myself.

The truth of the matter is that being productive when you're feeling bad (for lack of a better word) is physically difficult. Your mind and body feel drained and even your fingers feel heavy. Fighting against that downward pressure and "thinking positively" doesn't always work. So what are the options?

Well, first I try to realize that feeling sad is my body's natural reaction to everything that's happened, and within reason, it's a useful response. Being sad slows you down and makes you think. Happiness is often associated with carelessness and a lack of attention to detail. We've evolved to use sadness to step back and contemplate the roses. Plus sadness has its own particular thoughtful brand of creativity. So I'm trying not to fight it but rather use it in some way. Today I've been taking on tasks that require more deliberation and care and then slowly mixing in some social interaction and the stuff that requires some smiling.

Maybe these next few days will be my blue period. After all, it worked well for Picasso, right?

Comments

[Amy]

Sometimes your head just needs a little break to think think things through before you can move on to better things.

[Tania]

Hey Amy, That's definitely true. I can hardly remember that terrible week, but at the time it seemed like the feeling would last for ever. I think we tend to overestimate how bad our bad things really are.