Working While You’re Sad
The following chapter is from Street Smarts: 101 Short Stories, Essays, and Insights to Improve Communication Skills
When I’m having a long day & don’t want to think, I enjoy watching prank content.
That’s a way for me to unwind.
There was a day when I saw a popular prank channel post an update video about the status of their channel.
This channel is composed of 2 people who play pranks on others and they are hilarious.
Well, one of the members was on the update video and looked pretty bummed out.
He had sad news.
The sad news was that his partner decided to no longer do the videos.
This was sad news considering how the two were such a deadly duo.
Why did the other person suddenly stop?
The person giving the update news was giving the audience an update of what it was like being a prank channel in year 2020.
The year of a global pandemic.
He talked about the stress of being consistent and how difficult it was to work while sad.
But he & his partner were trying their best.
Well, the burnout finally caught up to his partner and now the channel has 1 member.
This got me thinking:
- How should one work when they are sad?
What this got me thinking about even more was the difference between physical work & mental work.
When I’m sick for example, I’ve always been one of those people who could still do physical work if need be.
I could still get up & move things around.
Heck, sometimes when I’m sick, I go for a walk.
In contrast, when I’m sick, I hate thinking.
I just want my mind to be in Lala land.
This prank channel, what are they really?
- They are content creators.
What do content creators do?
- They think at scale.
Even though these people were not physically sick, they were emotionally drained.
Being emotionally drained simulates similar feelings as being physically sick.
I can understand where the partner who dropped out, was coming from.
In a case like this, what do we do?
How does someone remain consistent, especially if their line of work relies heavily on mental faculties?
I have 2 suggestions.
1. Have backup material.
Picture a tragedy can strike later tonight.
Will you still have material to last until you get back up on your feet?
2. Train yourself to work through the pain.
The first suggestion seems reasonable.
The second suggestion seems whacky.
‘Work through emotional pain? That does not seem like the emotionally intelligent thing to do, buddy!’
As a matter of a fact, it is.
Emotional Intelligence comes down to:
- Self-awareness.
- Self-motivation.
- Empathy.
- Emotional regulation.
- Social skills.
The ability to work through pain tackles (2) self-motivation & (4) emotional regulation.
This is the reason I believe all entrepreneurs should take their EQ seriously.
It’s difficult to measure what we don’t have exams for.
This is why emotional intelligence can only be measured by individuals who have #1 from the list.
Self-awareness.
Because the truth of the matter is that tough moments occur.
For a couple of days, weeks, or months, we may be sad.
Incredibly sad to say the least.
And training the mind to immediately be like:
‘Oh no! I’m sad. No work today!’
Will install poor habits.
Not saying we should always work through sadness.
However, at times, working through the sadness is a skillset.
It’s a workout for our emotional muscles.
Makes us tougher, stronger & harder to kill.
Working past inhibiting emotions is what creates a warrior.
Not saying the guy who dropped out of the prank channel is not a warrior.
There are a lot of different reasons for why & how a decision is made.
However, I know for me, working past sadness has led to many of my happiest moments.
Take pride in consistency.
Consistency isn’t always sexy.
But when the consistent ones are gone, it is their presence which will leave a dent in the universe.
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