Where’d all the whimsy go?

You know that amazing feeling when you start observing a pattern among the people in your life and you think that maybe it’s just a coincidence or maybe… it’s an actual trend? Then you research it and discover that this observation is indeed an actual, data backed trend happening within humanity. That’s the best feeling. 

Or is that just a strategist thing?

Over the past year, I have observed an unfortunate pattern of women in my life feeling really unfulfilled in their professional roles. Really smart, really hardworking women. Creative and talented women who gift hand-made jewelry for Christmas, write poems on the human experience, sew their own clothes, run marathons all over the country. Animated, passionate women who deflate in their 9-5’s. Women who crave a life of purpose, creativity, and success. The desire to make a living without sacrificing actually living.

Turns out, I’m not the only one noticing this pattern.

This past November, The New York Times reported that Gen Z’ers find work more depressing than unemployment. This unfortunate trend is especially true for young women.

A myriad of things could lead to these low levels of job satisfaction. 

It could be AI creeping in on our job security. Or employer’s productivity tracking installed on laptops. Or opening Instagram to horrific news during the sacred 15-minutes between back-to-back meetings. 

I think it’s all that. Plus, I think we’ve lost our whimsy. 

We’ve lost our ability to unplug, connect, play. We spend the day switching between our small and medium screens, then kick our feet up to watch our big screen while we scroll our little screen. And who can blame us? It’s nearly impossible to have the mental space, time, or energy after a day of constant pings, back-to-back meetings and fires to put out. After so much noise, it’s hard enough to sneak a workout in or cook dinner with your family. 

The pace of our culture doesn’t allow for the mere likes of whimsy. 

Which can lead to a lot of unhappy and unfulfilled people. Especially women, who feel the added pressure of obligatory gratitude for even having a seat at the table. How disappointed would our predecessors be if they found out they marched, climbed and fought their way to break the glass ceiling–only for us to not like our jobs.

But sometimes, the problem isn’t the job. 

It’s the pace. 

We’re all moving so fast. So busy with tasks, errands, to do’s that drain us. We simply don’t have the space to take inventory. To look at where we are, where we want to be, and how our career can support the path that gets us there. 

Read that again. Our careers should be funding and supporting the life we want for ourselves. But instead, most of us shape our entire identity around a job that feels unaligned.

If the space doesn’t exist to tune in, it’s on us to create it.

Whimsy is more than silliness or play. It illuminates the things that light us up. Which is a very important reason to slow down. Once you create some free time and fill it with something other than scrolling or rotting, whimsy steps in. You get curious about things you’ve never even thought about before. Crave a creative hobby that you haven’t done in years. (Ever tried finger painting in your late 20’s?) You let yourself do something utterly unimportant and FUN for an hour after work. Or maybe even before. And every time, you come back to ‘real life’ feeling more aligned and energized.

Due to my all-or-nothing personality, I needed to step away from a traditional 9 to 5 to find my whimsy again. I had to jump out of the fast current to create space to explore what I really wanted. And that whimsical exploration illuminated some exciting things for me.

Maybe it won’t need to be as drastic for you. Maybe you can find your whimsy in those sacred 15-minutes between calls, opting for a mini dance party in your office instead of the doom scroll.

However you do it, I hope you create some space for more whimsy in your life. You’ll be surprised what it shows you.