In a Funk

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

I’ve noticed over the past few days that I feel like I am in a funk.

I don’t want to use the clinical term “depression” because I want to leave that to its intended purpose — a clinical diagnosis.

DepressedI’m not clinically depressed.

I’m feeling sad and lonely.

My wife has been away for almost three months caring for her sister.

She and my son check in with me daily.

But I am in the house by myself, lonely and frustrated.

Lonely because I miss the moments with my wife that seem like nothing but mean everything.

I was frustrated because this is one of those cycles of my work where nothing is bearing fruit.

There have been so many moments where I’m close and nothing closing.

I’m sure you’ve had this, too, because I talk to people about feeling like I’m in a funk, everyone shares their story of it.

Exercise helps.

I’m on the elliptical five times a week for 30-minute workouts. It’s fun to work out to a walking tour of different places as mine will do. I’ve toured Turks and Caicos, the pyramids of Egypt, and, most recently, parts of New York City that I’ve lived in almost my entire life. That one was funny to me.

My next book is being edited.

I’m waiting, not doing.

I’m trying but not getting results from my trying.

So, I’m talking it out with you, just like I would coach other people to do.

Opening up and not bottling it up, for me, helps me connect with the root cause.”

One of the things I did before I started writing this morning was posting a social media request for a Clubhouse invitation. It didn’t take long for my phone to ring, and an invitation came in.

As I messaged a thank you back, I realized little things bring me out of a funk.

His invitation to make arriving no more than 10 minutes after I made the ask was a surprise and made me feel happy.

It wasn’t so much about the invitation but about being heard and responded to that made a difference. Like many people, I hold it in even though I know better.

I know some of what I’m going to do today, and being heard and responded to feels great.

I’m ready. You?

Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2021

 

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host ofCareer Angles | Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 2000 episodes. He also hosts Job Search TV on YouTube, Amazon, and Roku, as well as on BingeNetworks.tv for Apple TV, and 90+ smart sets.

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