Stages Of Emotional Stagnation
Stagnation takes away motivation. What we used to love now seems ridiculous and meaningless to us. We prefer to be alone. We close our hearts and we decide to isolate ourselves, so as not to disturb others and not to be disturbed. And without having really decided, we bury ourselves in our own life.
In the rest of this article, we suggest you study the stages of emotional stagnation, so that you avoid falling into the trap of this silent suffering.
Routine, the best ally of emotional stagnation
If you are immersed in the routine, your days are not very different from each other. You follow the same steps, you say the same words, you speak with the same people. You become so used to this situation that, without even realizing it, you keep repeating the same things over and over again. Worst of all is that you don’t want to come out of this state of emotional stagnation, even if you feel bad.
If we are in a relationship, things are no different. We can come to a point, after a few years, when the other becomes almost a stranger. We don’t realize it, or we don’t want to see it, but the other person’s personality changes. We no longer fully share his life, we are no longer so involved in his existence. It becomes one more habit in our monotony.
Routine is capable of destroying our will to live. However, we must not destroy everything we have built to come out of emotional stagnation. We just have to open the door to surprises, we have to relearn how to discover all that the world has to offer us. Choosing a different route to get to work or to do your daily activities is a good start.
The rest will come naturally. If you start by surprising yourself with little things, you’ll find that you don’t need more to smile again. Just being willing to change and to end the routine that traps you will allow you to discover new opportunities and continue to enjoy life.
Locking in the comfort zone
One of the most harmful things that can happen to us is not wanting to step out of our comfort zone. We believe that we are in an ideal state which fulfills all of our needs. However, it is only an illusion that keeps us from moving forward. For example, we can no longer identify with our work, but we continue to go there every day because we are afraid of finding ourselves without a job.
We can start all over again, in a new city or in another country. But we often reject the opportunities we have to stay in our comfort zone. We don’t risk trying anything else, and we prefer emotional stagnation over the unknown, to maintain a state we know, even if we don’t like it.
Beyond having clear objectives, we must accept that personal development inevitably involves a back and forth movement. Change is necessary and new opportunities enrich us. Little by little, if we cultivate these ideas within us, we will be able to find a healthy balance and accomplish the goals that we can set for ourselves.
In this way, we can overcome the anxieties that invade us in difficult times. Not depending on our comfort zone makes it easier for us to recover from the falls of life. We let go of that false sense of stillness that keeps us from moving forward.
Apathy, demotivation and sadness
We lose enthusiasm, nothing motivates us anymore and sometimes we let others decide for us. Joy is no longer an option in our existence. We are absent from our life, a veil of sadness covers our eyes. We eat, we breathe, we sleep and we move like robots. We have reflexes, but no longer a will of our own. We no longer see the colors that are present in the world.
Our emotions are at their lowest level of sensitivity. Nothing and no one motivates us, we see life pass like a distant train, which we missed and which left us at the station. And if opportunities arise in our life, we are unable to seize and take advantage of them. The train passes us right under our noses and there is nothing we can do about it.
Life goes away from us ever faster, without our realizing that we are unable to come out of this state of emotional stagnation. Recovering the ability to amaze ourselves is a key element in starting to dream again. In this situation, awakening and cherishing the child that we all have within us, but who is sometimes asleep, is essential. It’s time to let him out.
The dream should not be hampered by reality. People who don’t give up on their dreams are capable of doing unimaginable things. It all starts with simply opening the doors to our imaginations and believing that anything is possible. The game must replace the rigidity of a monotonous life, it is a formidable tool to recover our creativity and our joy of living.
Images by Sean Gadoury
