Our clients and our Health Coach and Physical Therapy teams noticed that during the pandemic life was quieter. We initially thought “what a great chance to slow down and take a look at what makes us feel our best.” But many of our friends and clients didn’t feel on their game. Justifiably, they felt fearful. Things are getting much better as we re-open, but many of us are still feeling a little anxious and “off”.

Adam Grant popularized the term “Languishing” (coined by sociologist Corey Keyes) for that feeling. He suggests:

Languishing feels blah, stagnant, stuck, and maybe empty. It’s not clinical, but it’s not fun – as our Health Coach Team knows.

Fortunately, we can fix that. Dani Blum explained in her New York Times article “The Other Side of Languishing is Flourishing.” She proposes five simple ways to flourish.

  • Take your blinders off and assess yourself. Are you rolling along, flourishing, languishing, or maybe you are a bit depressed? If you’re not sure, take the Quiz developed at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program. Here’s a link.
  • Take time to be grateful. Our Health Coach team has embraced the idea of setting aside five to ten minutes one day a week to consciously focus on what they in life makes them grateful. They point out that it can be simple things. A study from 2003 showed that after just 10 weeks of “gratitude intervention” participants felt better about life and had fewer physical complaints.
  • Try doing five good deeds in one day. Again, they can be little things like helping someone get a jar from a high shelf at the grocery. Or helping your toddler tie her shoelace. Research from 2004 showed that doing this once a week for just a few weeks improved people’s outlook on life.
  • Have a sense of purpose and focus on it. Because:

“Feeling good about life isn’t enough.” – Corey Keyes, Sociologist Emory University

We feel better physically and mentally when we have a sense of purpose. To flourish we need to have a reason to be. Otherwise, we tend to languish. Our Health Coach team tries to add purpose to most things that they do. As Hector and Tim have noted, “We don’t make people look better, we work with clients to transform their lives with better health. That gives us purpose, we’re not trainers. We’re life partners and coaches.”

  • Try something new. Many of us believe that we can’t flourish without making major changes. Perhaps we think that we need a new job or a move to a new city, that’s not true. Research suggests that changing your habits and behavior makes the difference. And, as we’ve written, the changes don’t have to be big. Try something you’ve wanted to do, join a group activity that interests you. This may be enough to get you flourishing. Especially when we give ourselves credit for making the effort.

All of us at elevate, the Health Coach and Physical Therapy teams are aware that the last fourteen months have been difficult for many of us. We’re thrilled that life is returning to normal. And that we can more easily try the things that help us flourish.

When you’re ready to get going, we’re here and waiting to help. Just contact us.

Learn more about our Health Coach and Physical Therapy Teams here.