This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey there, what's up? Chris Guillebeau here, your host of "Sidus Will School." Been getting a lot of emails recently, a lot of emails, questions, social media comments and such on, I think I called it a Zoom fatigue a couple of weeks ago, but it's not just Zoom fatigue, it's 2020 fatigue, the 2020 flu, and I don't mean COVID. Today's question from one of our listeners is quite reflective of this attitude or this experience, let's say, 'cause it's not really an attitude, it's something people are legitimately going through. A listener is drained, discouraged, and disheartened with the continued struggle of 2020. They wanna know how other people have managed to overcome this.
Now I know for myself, I can just speak from my experience, I had a few rough weeks there for a while. When the pandemic started, I was trying to figure out how to reframe it, I did pretty well for a few months, but then as it went on, it was kind of like, found myself discouraged and disheartened and a little bit drained. And of course, my life overall is not that different during the pandemic. I also realized that I'm not worried about losing my job, I'm healthy, I'm very fortunate. So I'm aware of all that, but I was still feeling pretty discouraged, right?
Because that's just how it is. So also a quick note on that word overcome, we'll talk about this more in a moment, but I'm a big believer that trying to overcome our fears or anything else that we perceive as negative is not always, if ever, the right objective, right? It's not so much about like overcoming as it is working through or accepting and acknowledging and not worrying about what we can't control, but taking responsibility for the things that we can. Still, I know it's tough out there, I acknowledge that. So as I said, I've been hearing variations of this question a lot, working through anxiety and 2020 fatigue.
Let's hear from this listener and talk about it after this quick message from our sponsor. [Music]
Hey there, Chris, this is Ben from Denver. And I've been following your projects for a while now. I also really appreciate your perspective on life. And like so many others, I'm worn out from this year between the protests, the pandemic, the stress surrounding the election and everything else.
I've been struggling with low grade anxiety and 2020 fatigue. I mean, I'm just going through the motions at work. Don't tell my boss. And having a hard time getting motivated for anything beyond the basics, just wondering what you and others have been able to figure out. I mean, I know you don't have all the answers, but any tips would be helpful.
So yeah, thanks and looking forward to hearing from you. - Ben, thank you so much for this very honest message. I appreciate it. I know you're actually speaking for a lot of people. So for anybody out there in the situation who identifies with Ben, and I'll also address those who don't, like if your life is going really well, we'll just hold on, I'll come back to you too.
But for everybody else, for all of us, first and foremost, let's take a deep breath. Like in a lot of ways, this year has just been hard. And I don't think anyone has a magical answer. I don't think there are magical answers. Something that I noticed kind of in the beginning of all this was that lots of people, including myself, we're trying to do lots more live streaming and conversations with listeners, readers, viewers, et cetera.
And I liked that, I wanna go do more of that. But I think in the beginning, there was such a rush of people doing it and everyone looking to the so-called experts for answers and the so-called experts, again, perhaps including myself, we don't have the answers. Like nobody does. This is all something that continues to unfold uniquely in human history for everybody. Okay, so that's the first thing I think it's really important just for everybody to understand and to acknowledge because when you struggle, like you're not the only one who's struggling.
So one thing I am doing as the year comes to a close, 'cause I've had some ups and downs here as well, I'm just, I'm beginning to look forward into the next year and just trying to be as creative as possible, be as open-minded and ask myself, like, what could I do differently? Like, I know how to like have my routine. I know how to fight against something that I can't control and that doesn't usually work out so well. So how can I use whatever opportunity there is here and just try to find a way to grow through that? And again, it's not easy, but I think that is the right perspective to start from.
So try some different stuff. That's what I'm doing is like, as I journal, I'm like, what am I gonna do differently? Like, what am I gonna change? What am I, there's some projects I've always wanted to start but I haven't or something I started a long time ago but didn't finish or maybe something totally different. So that's just a couple of tips, but mostly hang in there because everybody is fighting a hard battle.
And if anybody is not fighting a hard battle, like, as I said, I'll come back to you if you're like, actually, this year has been amazing for me. Well, that's great. I have no resentment of that. I would just say if that is your situation, channel that energy towards helping someone else to care for somebody, look after them or help them in some practical way. I think that's also a good thing to do when you're feeling discouraged, right?
So a good thing to do at all times. Thanks again, Ben, I appreciate that. Now hang in there everybody and I'll be around. Thank you so much for listening. We are a community.
You are awesome wherever you are in the world, whatever you're up to. I hope you'll continue to listen. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
