I would be faking it if I wrote about shine today. Writing about shine requires enthusiasm and I'm not feeling it this morning.
The weather is crummy, the class I taught yesterday didn't go well, readership lately has seemed especially low, and I am filled with self-doubt about whether the time and energy I exert is worth the effort.
Author, Seth Godin, calls this a "Dip."
It's been a while since I read his book titled, The Dip, but I am pretty sure he uses the phrase to describe the point in any endeavor when you wonder whether it is smarter to fish or to cut bait.
Somewhere along the line, you have also probably encountered the Dip.
If yours felt anything like mine does, it was ridden with feelings of exhaustion, self-pity, and self-doubt. Imagine all the things I could do with the extra time and money if only I didn't teach, didn't have a website, or didn't write a blog. I could be a gym rat with a perfect figure. My house would be perfectly clean, and mountains of laundry would melt away. Why did I think I could do this anyway?
The Dip is a test. The Dip requires the ability to push through moments where it is just easier to quit.
The Dip is definitely a test.
I am sure it seems a little ironic that a website, dedicated to teaching and promoting principles of SHINE, should spend an entire post dwelling on the Dip. Maybe not, though.
Maybe people who shine are so passionate and committed, to whatever their cause, that they are prone to feelings of discontent and exhaustion. Maybe the key is not to deny the Dip, but instead to embrace it and use it as an excuse for reevaluating and recommitting.
I wish I could tie this post up in a nice neat bow for you, with a positive message and healthy dose of inspiration. Not today. Today maybe I will count on those who have made it through a Dip to share your words of wisdom. How about it? Visit us in the Community Forum labeled, Today's Post. Tell us about a Dip you have faced and how you got to the other side.
I've gone for a Dip. I'll be back tomorrow...