When we are depressed we can lose perspective on many things and sometimes about our lives in general. I recently began a new decade in my life. A few months before this significant transition I began to think about the meaning of it. Where was I in my life? Where was I going? Was I where I wanted to be? Was I where I thought I should be?
Earlier this week my wife and I were sailing back from Catalina to Marina Del Rey in California. We were returning a day early because the forecast was for increasingly rough weather. Even a day early we were concerned about if the weather would hold until we got back.
As an organizational psychologist I often work with executives and their employees on performance appraisal issues. It is usual for companies to want to evaluate their employees so they can pay them fairly and also help them to develop. In order to evaluate performance we need to first establish goals. Sometimes goals are hard to articulate because a company's mission or purpose is not clear.
I have heard the same complaint many times from our participants: I don’t have any energy. I can’t get out of bed in the morning. I can’t get started doing what I need to do. Each of us has been stuck in one of these ways and it is miserable.
It is interesting to note that at the end of the book The Mindful Way through Depression and near the beginning of The Depression Workbook each suggests we need to take our lives back from depression. We need to act when we feel like we have no energy, no will power. We need to do something when we believe we can do nothing. This can be a very challenging idea for most of us.
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