Monday, May 10: lone movers

“Having a fantasy is only the beginning.”

Let’s start with the obvious: why lone movers and not mover? How lone be plural? If we were talking about the day of the lone mover (singular), I would get it. I’d see May 10 is a day of introversion, quiet and earnest activity. A day for tuning out distractions and moving forward. But as movers (plural), there is a kind of assembly line idea or room full of cubicles—everyone is in their own space, doing their own thing, not talking, not really seeing what’s happening before or after or next to them (yes, I see the grammatical tension in everyone/their, but I’m gonna let that simmer), perhaps contributing to the whole? Who knows?

Yesterday, Adam Grant posted an article in the New York Times claiming that “languishing” is the dominant emotion of 2021. I’m not going to explore it too much here (I’m sure there is a larger blog post upcoming), but, according to Grant, languishing is not depression or exhaustion or burnout; it is the opposite of flourishing. It’s the loss of normal.

The good thing: we aren’t in normal now nor have we found anything like the “new normal.” The bad thing: we’re just languishing in our abnormal lone movements.

So, should I end by encouraging you to embrace the lone mover and dig into work today or should I suggest finding other lone movers and create a sense of community—check-in at the end of the day? Well, both, of course. Grant says that having a sense of progress will move us from languishing toward flourishing. Set a goal, get it done, and tell someone about it. You can start with me.