Today’s video is about the times when you feel like you don’t want to do anything. Some of you might feel it just a little bit and from time to time, and for some of you it is a predominant feeling throughout everything you do. This topic comes from a workshop I ran this week at the Institute for Academic Development for researchers from various schools and departments of the University of Edinburgh.
It was a moment when we were talking about releasing anything that is not in alignment with your priorities. We were doing this by talking about the process of elimination: letting go of some obligations and commitments that are no longer in alignment with your priorities. I gave an exercise to everyone to think about “what do you do that 1) you don’t want to do, 2) you don’t have to do and 3) drains your energy”. There was an interesting response from one person in the audience who shared with me: “Well, I don’t have to do anything!”. By the way, it is a very empowering place to be when you feel “I don’t have to do anything, I choose to do what I do”. It is certainly something to strive for: it gives you such a freedom, such power to do what you want to do. You feel like everything you do is by choice.
And yet there was a completely opposite response to this exercise in the audience, when one person said: “I don’t want to do anything!” She continued: “But I have to do my work, so that I can buy food and pay the rent.” And this is not a very good place to be because it contributes to you feeling low. And I’ve been there! I understand this answer and how this person might feel right now, because I’ve felt like this – quite low and even depressed – when I felt “I have to do this work”.
You would want to start shifting away from feeling like this. Some of you feel like this quite a lot and often, and some of you feel like this only a little bit and from time to time, and I hope you would find useful the tips I am going to give you.
Watch the video above to find out what you can start doing to begin shifting away from feeling “I don’t want to do anything” to a situation where you find yourself doing more of the things you love.
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