Is It OK To Have A Blah Day?
The guys explore the concept of ‘blah days,’ those mundane, uninspired days that everyone experiences. They discuss the emotional and spiritual aspects of feeling blah, the importance of community and communication, and how to identify patterns and triggers that contribute to these feelings.
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Is it okay to have a blah day? Yes. Mike Mobley and Chris Howard say a gray, unmotivated, nothing-happened kind of day is normal, it doesn’t make you a failure, and God loves you just as much as on your best days. Chris came into the studio feeling blah, so they talked about it: how to sort out whether the cause is physical, emotional or spiritual, how a blah day differs from depression, why a culture hooked on dopamine highs makes ordinary days feel worse, how honest the Bible is about times like this, and why the worst thing you can do on a blah day is isolate. Below: the key takeaways, the Scripture discussed, and the full episode transcript.
What Is a Blah Day?
Chris describes his day as just okay: the sky a little gray, not much going on, nothing to look forward to. Mike knows the feeling well. Someone asks how your day was and all you can say is, “I worked today and that’s about it.” A losing sports season, a midweek slump, or scrolling through friends’ vacation photos in the summer can all add to it. Social media comparison can even make you wonder what’s wrong with you. Both agree that everyone, man or woman, has had plenty of blah days.
Physically, Emotionally, Spiritually
When Chris feels blah, he tries to find the reasons. Physically: did I sleep enough, what did I eat? Emotionally: am I jealous of friends taking trips, or feeling sorry for myself? Spiritually: “God, what is it here that has me feeling like I need something more than You?” He says it starts with being honest with yourself, noticing your patterns through the day, and bringing them to God. Mike admits that on his worst blah days he is low in all three at once, led by his emotions, and tempted to throw the papers in the air and call the day at 4 p.m.
A Blah Day Is Not the Same as Depression
Chris and Mike are careful to say a blah day is different from depression. For them, the biggest difference is time and severity: a blah day usually passes within a day. Mike says you have to ask each person what they mean when they say they’re blah, anxious or depressed. To anyone struggling with depression or anxiety: you’re not alone, and you’re not less of a person. It is a different struggle, but a real and painful one.
A Culture Hooked on Highs
Part of the problem, Mike says, is our culture of instant gratification and constant dopamine hits, from real drugs to junk food, social media, sports and amusement parks. When a day comes without those highs, we hit a wall and call it terrible. We also feel pressure to have a great answer every time someone asks, “How was your day?” But who says every day of the week needs a huge high? “I can’t find that in the Bible.” It’s okay to sit across the table and say, “Today was today.”
The Bible Is Honest About Blah
The Bible is full of waiting and seasons where nothing seems to happen. The author of Ecclesiastes looked at everything under the sun and called it meaningless. The Psalms are full of raw, honest prayers: questioning God, struggling with impatience, even shaking a fist at the heavens. Feeling that way is not the sin; what you do with it matters. God called David a man after His own heart, struggles and all. There is a season for everything, and on a blah day God’s love for you hasn’t changed one bit.
Don’t Go Through It Alone
Isolation is the danger. Mike says he is most tempted when he combines a blah day with refusing to talk, telling himself he has already thrown in the towel. Chris has learned the power of honest conversation with believers, and an abundance of counselors helps you hear the truth from outside your own head. Their practical steps: tell a friend you’re feeling blah (they may say, “Me too”), ask God for help, go for a walk, help someone else, and remember His mercies are new every morning. Even in the valley, you’re taking steps through it.
Scriptures From This Episode
Ecclesiastes 1:2 (“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”)
Acts 13:22 (“I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart”)
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”)
Proverbs 11:14 (“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”)
Lamentations 3:22–23 (“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”)
Proverbs 16:9 (“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”)
Also referenced: the honest prayers of the Psalms, walking through the valley, and how many people in the Bible were far from perfect.
Go deeper: Why So Many Men Are Bored And Drifting · How to Navigate the Valley of Fear and Disappointment · The Struggle With Anxiety is Real · Scripture on Depression · How to Recognize and Manage ADHD with Jake Brown · Do You Have A Transparent Community? · Why Community Is More Important Than You Think
Full Transcript, Not Quite There, Episode 50: Is It OK To Have A Blah Day?
Chris: The day was just okay. Yeah. It’s okay. And is it okay to just have a day that’s okay?
Mike: So here at NQT, we value transparency and authenticity. So we have a very important disclaimer at the beginning of the episode. This is not financial advice. This is a drumroll sound effect. Breaking news: Quincy James Adams… Am I getting the name right? Christian the Third…
Chris: Quincy James Adams the Third, sir.
Mike: Royal Knight of the Fourth. Our presidential Quincy…
Chris: Our president’s…
Mike: Husband of Lord Adams. He actually does have presidential experience. Chris, did you know this?
Chris: I do now. And that’s why we’re uttering this disclaimer here.
Mike: Multiple times he has been class president. So Quincy, we salute you, my friend. It is an honor and a privilege. So you’re telling me there’s a chance? That’s the wrong sound drop there for Quincy. You know what? There’s a chance we can all be president.
Chris: There’s a chance we can. So were you ever a president, Mike?
Mike: No, never. I’ve never been president of anything. What about you?
Chris: Sophomore class president.
Mike: Wow. Sophomore. What is the sophomore class? What do you do?
Chris: Well, I was in charge of making sure we had a good fundraiser. We sold college-themed mugs to raise money for our high school stuff.
Mike: Wow. That is riveting information here. So did you run again and then lose in your junior year?
Chris: I just didn’t like the responsibility too much.
Mike: Too much pressure on the sophomore class president.
Chris: I kind of got what I wanted out of it.
Mike: Oh wow. The glamour, the prestige. Walking down the hall, everyone saluting you, your cups bowing down. Get those cups. Never president of anything else?
Chris: I don’t remember being president of anything else. I think I had my fill.
Mike: Too much. We’ve talked about this before, actually, in one of our last episodes. In another life, would you run for office? Be president? Answer us right now.
Chris: I don’t feel drawn to that. No.
Mike: Not at all? Okay. If someone came to you with the opportunity to be the president…
Chris: Said, “Chris, we really need you.”
Mike: “Chris, we really want to put you on the ticket.”
Chris: Oh, I’m the ticket. Okay. Not the radio show.
Mike: Presidential ticket. What would you do? Would you consider it?
Chris: I would ask some questions. “Am I really your guy?”
Mike: It would be scary, those background checks.
Chris: “What’s in it for me?” And most importantly, “You got the cash?”
Mike: Doesn’t the president make, what, 250?
Chris: 400,000.
Mike: Is it 400,000? Okay. Obviously they get more than that in different ways, but sure. That’s the standard presidential salary.
Chris: 400,000. That’s just to keep the lights on.
Mike: Wow. That’s a lot of money. Okay. So to keep our trend of authenticity and transparency, how was your day today?
Chris: My day? Well, thank you for asking, Michael.
Mike: Did you just burp right before you answered?
Chris: No, that’s not the transparency I’m looking to share.
Mike: We’re honest here. Okay.
Chris: So you’re asking how the day was.
Mike: Yeah. Sorry. I derailed my original question.
Chris: The day was just okay. Yeah. It’s okay. And is it okay to just have a day that’s okay?
Mike: Like a blah day?
Chris: Like the sky’s a little bit gray. There’s not really too much going on. I’m not really looking forward to anything that’s going to be happening on the weekend.
Mike: Like a mundane…
Chris: Like a mundane blah. I think the word blah, does it come from blasé?
Mike: Good question. I bet. So is blasé the formal word?
Chris: I think blasé is the formal word describing something like that.
Mike: But no guy’s going to say, “I’m feeling blasé.” Blah, blah, blah. I’m picking up what you’re putting down.
Chris: How was your day? Did you have a blah day today?
Mike: I didn’t, but I’ve definitely experienced what you’re saying multiple times. That’s actually kind of a good descriptor, whether or not it’s the real weather. It is kind of like that overcast. To me, when I have days like that, someone’s like, “How was your day?” And you’re like, “I don’t know. I worked today and that’s about it.” Just hard to feel motivated. Blah. So I hope everyone listening resonates with the same thing. When it feels like a blah day, that’s how I think I would describe it.
Chris: Would it be any different if the Dallas Stars were starting in the Stanley Cup Finals tonight? I’m going somewhere with this, because I think our culture tends to move us toward events.
Mike: You’re using a real example to tear me down, but then to make a really good point at the same time.
Chris: Being transparent.
Mike: Well, thank you for your transparency. I don’t think it would change the overall picture. I love the Stars and lots of major sports. I’m not crazy about them, where if they’re playing in the Cup tonight, it’s going to be the great savior. But I will say, if I’m having a blah day, it sure doesn’t help that they’re knocked out of the playoffs. That just adds to it. “Oh yeah, there’s nothing on TV either.” It adds to the pessimistic feeling, the negative feeling of just like, nothing’s going right today. Today is just kind of poopy.
Chris: Well, imagine if the Stars and the Mavericks were both in the finals. It would be pretty exciting.
Mike: Right. That aspect would be exciting. That’d help.
Chris: But now it’s more the doldrums of sports, which kind of condition us to be excited about them when they’re on. Not really much happening there with baseball.
Mike: For certain people, sports are probably something they can look forward to. We’re recording this on a Wednesday. I think people can sometimes feel blah in the middle of the week or on a Monday. I don’t think a lot of people feel that way on a Friday.
Chris: There’s something a little more uplifting, looking forward to the weekend, a change of pace from what the week has been. It’s certainly a time of year when people are going on vacations, and I think there’s probably a reason for that.
Mike: Summertime!
Chris: Time to get out of the mundane, right? And so if you’re not going on vacation, I see how that could be.
Mike: That would kind of add to it. Because then you look around and everyone else is going, and you’re like, “Oh, okay, have a great time. I guess I’m not going anywhere this summer.”
Chris: I think that plays into it. Throw a gray day in around the Dallas-Fort Worth area and you kind of get the recipe for blah.
Mike: I mean, social media, the comparison. They might be going on a trip or whatever it is they’re doing. Typically, people are posting a bunch of exciting things. And if you don’t seem to have the same level of excitement about something going on in your life, you might even feel like, what’s wrong with me, in the middle of that blah feeling. And most people I’ve talked with, I think everyone can resonate and has had multiple blah days, man or woman. Like today, like you’re saying. I’m sorry you’ve been having a blah day, by the way. But I’m assuming it’s obviously not your first one.
Chris: Not our first blah rodeo.
Mike: So when you’re feeling that way, and you might still be feeling that way right now, so I understand if when I ask this question, you might just be like, “I don’t know.” When you find yourself mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and you almost can’t shake it, you’re just in that blah feeling, do you do anything later in the day to be like, “Okay, I need to reset myself”? Or do you just throw in the towel and let it wash over you? Just chalk the day up as over, let’s just go to tomorrow?
Chris: Yeah. As the well-practiced solution finder that I think I am by now, I try to find a way out. What can change this up? What’s the mojo? How do we pull the goalie here and get something else going?
Mike: Is that another Stars reference?
Chris: Do you think it is?
Mike: Could it be? Let’s just move on.
Chris: Well, my apologies.
Mike: How dare you? You’re very mean when you’re blah.
Chris: That’s why we’re talking about it. We’re trying to break out of it. I like to at least try to figure out the reasons why. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, or all three: what’s going on here? Did I get enough sleep the night before? Probably not. Am I tired right now? What did I have for lunch that’s maybe causing a sugar high and then a big old crash? So there are physical reasons for it. Emotionally, sure. Am I dealing with some jealousy, hearing about others going on trips that I’d like to be going on? That can play into it too: “When will I be able to take a trip like that? Is that something I’m going to get to do at all this year?” You start feeling sorry for yourself a little bit. And the spiritual aspect crosses into that area too: “God, what is it here that has me feeling like I need something more than You? Do I believe that You’re going to provide what I need in this time, and what my family needs at this time? Or do I need to go and try to do it on my own?” So I think all of that added together can cause a big old blah feeling of, I don’t know what to do.
Mike: Do you consciously think through those questions when you’re feeling blah? Because I want to throw those questions out the window and not work on it.
Chris: No, I think it takes actually thinking through it a bit. Why am I feeling this way? I don’t like feeling this way, so what can I do to get out of it? I think it all starts with being honest with yourself and asking yourself those questions. It takes a while to wake up to the fact that, well, I’m kind of feeling blah today, or I don’t feel 100 percent. And learning more and more from our friends who have come on the show and talked about different things, in particular Jake talking about ADHD, has me thinking more about different tides. Whether it be ADHD or not, there are certain up and down times during a day. How are you feeling at a certain time? After lunch, are you a little more down, or are you up? Just asking those kinds of questions to identify patterns in yourself. I think that’s part of what God wants us to do: know ourselves, and then bring those things to Him.
Mike: Yeah, that’s good. I don’t always think about observing it or really questioning why. For me, when I’ve had those days, and I’ve had them tons of times, it seems like I’m being led by my emotions and I just don’t care. It’s just throw the papers in the air. Someone’s like, “Hey, are you struggling in this area?” or even, “Can I pray for you?” There’s a part of me that’s just like, “Nah, I don’t care. If you want to, cool. It’s a free country. Do what you want.” It’s like, cool guy. And I should be like, thank you. I should be so thankful that people care, or even give me the feedback, because I may not even know I’m blah until my wife or kids or friends or coworkers or a stranger give me feedback in a way where I’m like, “Oh, I must be coming across different today.” But you got me thinking on physically, emotionally and spiritually. I can’t remember a time when I’ve had a pretty rough blah day that it wasn’t all three of them. I don’t think I was doing well in any of those categories and then doing badly in the other ones. I think I was doing badly in all of them at the same time. Spiritually, I’m low and totally not thinking about God and Him being in control, and what He would want for me that day, or what He’s telling me to do, or just His love for me. I’m not thinking about that, which would actually fuel me or remind my emotions or physicality, okay, I’ve got some wind in the sails. Emotionally, I think I’m checked out, or I just want to give up and I just don’t care. I don’t think I could go there without being low spiritually, and then physically I’d just feel so low. I’d feel just weak. They feel combined. You know what I mean? They feel like they’re all together, at least for me, on blah days or blah moments.
Chris: When that happens, do you notice a difference where something you might usually be excited about when you’re not in the blah doesn’t pique your interest as much?
Mike: When I’m feeling that way, nothing seems to get my interest going. It’s just this dark cloud over me. “Everyone kind of leave me alone. I’m probably not going to be good for you anyway.” A lot of negative self-talk. There are probably a lot of attacks from the enemy. It genuinely feels like throwing the papers in the air, and I’m going to just veg out on the couch, and I’m going to call the day, no matter what time of the day it is. I’m going to tell myself, “When I wake up in the morning, tomorrow will be a new day, but this one’s over. So kids, boys, it’s 4 p.m., go to bed, and I’m going to have some couch time.” Something like that. Because if you asked me to try to think through some of those positives or what else I could glean, I feel like in my lowest, I’m just going to tell you I’m not interested. “I don’t want to hear your positivity, because I’m having a blah day. So leave me alone,” kind of a thing.
Chris: Yeah. I wonder about this too. Anybody listening here might say, “What you guys are talking about sounds like depression. It sounds like something more serious.” I don’t think of it along those lines. I don’t think of it as anything requiring medication.
Mike: What do you think the difference is between someone having a blah day and depression? And I understand depression can mean many different things. But what do you think the difference is?
Chris: Well, initially, I think the period of time. This is not something that will continue day after day after day. More than likely, tomorrow is going to be an up day, where I rebound from this kind of day and say, “Okay, I have more motivation here.” Kind of powered through it, identified it, number one, and then moved forward and talked about it here on the podcast. So I think severity and timeframe have a lot to do with it. What do you think?
Mike: That’s where I lean too. And I’m not speaking from experience with depression. I can talk about anxiety and stuff like that all day long. And everyone’s at a different spot. They say they have anxiety, they say they’re depressed, or frankly, they say they’re having a blah day, and I think you really have to drill down and ask each person what they mean by that to really know where they’re coming from. Maybe they are talking about depression, but maybe they’re not. My head tends to say it’s the length of time, because like you, I snap out of my blah days, so to speak, typically within a day. And if you’re struggling with that, we’re sorry, and you’re not alone. That applies to anxiety or depression. You’re not less of a person just because of that type of struggle.
Chris: That’s just a different struggle.
Mike: A different struggle, but a really real and painful struggle. But I haven’t associated them as the same thing. They might share similar principles, whether someone’s a follower of Jesus or not: who is ultimately in control? Who do we believe? One direction can be pretty encouraging to think about, and another could be pretty fatalistic and kind of keep you there. I think that could play into our emotions and our physicality, and maybe just our drive. And I don’t want to go too far down the hole, but some of it could be our culture.
Chris: What are we geared toward?
Mike: I mean, we like this instant gratification, this action. We’re going at this high energy, these dopamine hits, whether it’s drugs, like real drugs, or many other things that give you the same effects as drugs. That could be as simple as eating junk food, or social media, or a sports game…
Chris: Or even amusement parks.
Mike: Any of this stuff. You just get addicted to dopamine. So we have these constant highs, and when the occasional day comes and those things aren’t there within a 24-hour period, I think sometimes we hit a wall, and we’re like, “Well, today was terrible.”
Chris: We don’t have anything that’s terribly exciting to talk about or to write home about. I’ve never understood that.
Mike: Writing home? Wasn’t that, like, a military thing?
Chris: “You have something to write home about.”
Mike: Are you making fun of the veterans right now?
Chris: That I would not do.
Mike: We are sorry. You may write home all you want. I’m sorry. Chris is a hater on writing letters.
Chris: Well, that certainly won’t be boring once I start getting those letters. Thank you, Mike. Appreciate it.
Mike: The energy’s coming back all of a sudden for my defense. No, I do think there’s something about it. If someone says, “Hey, so how was your day?” and you’re kind of like, “Not much happened today,” there’s also this element of, that’s okay. I do think we feel this pressure that we have to have a great answer to that question. And that’s the age-old question. We’re going to hear it all the time. You bump into a stranger: “How’s your day, man?” It’s okay that there wasn’t much today. Who says there have to be these dramatic, high-energy accomplishments every day, all the time?
Chris: I don’t know who… I feel like you’re somebody in my…
Mike: No, I’m just saying…
Chris: Somebody who does that all the time?
Mike: Who are you? I feel like we’re making a…
Chris: I have no idea.
Mike: Oh my word, man. I thought you were going to say something there.
Chris: No. The way that today shaped up… We’re transparent around here, so we’ll show you behind the curtain a little bit. By the time Wednesday rolls around, sometimes it’s, “What do you want to talk about today?” “I don’t know.” Because it’s always meant to be just a conversation, like we’re getting together at a coffee shop or a restaurant. We’re just going to get together and talk. And today, I really don’t feel like I have anything to talk about. “What about you?” “We’ll figure it out.” And that’s where I let you know I’m feeling kind of blah, and you’re like, “Well, let’s talk about that.”
Mike: I personally love that. I think that is a typical day for all of us, honestly. And we invite anyone into this conversation, just having a cup of coffee with us. Sometimes you sit across the table and it’s like, “Eh, today was today.” And that’s okay. Even when I say that, I feel this tension where I want to be like, “Well, that stinks. I guess the day stunk.” But why does it have to stink? Because it wasn’t as eventful? Who says that seven days out of every seven-day week, you’re supposed to have these huge highs every day? I can’t find that in the Bible. I can’t find that anywhere.
Chris: No, you’re not going to find it.
Mike: I’m not going to find it either. I don’t find it in other areas of the world.
Chris: I’m not telling anybody else to find it, because it’s not going to be in there. I do know that once we started talking about maybe talking about this, the day got a little more exciting. By the time I walked into the office and saw you, of course there was that excitement: “Hey, we’re going to record a podcast episode.”
Mike: Yeah.
Chris: That shook me out of it. I think I was out of it before then, just by talking about the fact that we were going to talk about this today. It took some of the doldrums out of the day. But it also gave me an opportunity to think, okay, what does the Bible say about this? Is it normal to have these periods of time where you’re just waiting, where you’re having to be patient and nothing’s really happening? And we see that all over the Bible.
Mike: Yeah.
Chris: I mean, there’s Ecclesiastes. It kind of talks about this in detail, about things even feeling meaningless. And so obviously the author there was experiencing some blah about just about everything that could be named: “That’s good,” or in the eyes of man, “that’s good.” “Wow. That’s pretty meaningless.” And so what other things come to mind from the Bible?
Mike: I would encourage anyone, like you said… The Bible has the Old Testament and the New Testament. Ecclesiastes is in the Old one. Just look up a word that looks like Ecclesiastes, because I’m not spelling it right now. E-C-C-L-E-S… blah, blah, blah. You can also look in the book of Psalms. Something I’ve appreciated as I’ve gotten older: I’m not a musician, and there are lots of songs and musical literature in there, so I kind of skipped over that in my past. But there’s the raw emotion of questioning God, or lacking patience, or almost shaking your fist toward the heavens. All legitimate prayers, and honesty with God about where you’re at. And sometimes praying like, “God, I don’t feel like praying today. I know Your Word says this. I don’t care.” It’s possible I don’t care about You today. In that sense, it sounds terrible, and none of us are waking up with that as our goal for the day. But it can be how we’re feeling, and to feel that is not the sin. You’re not a sinner because you had that feeling. What you do with it ultimately is what’s important. Because like we’re saying, you’ve got multiple spots in the Bible with people frustrated, not understanding, being honest. God says, “You’re a man after My own heart,” to that same man who is struggling. There are a lot of misconceptions that everything in the Bible is about people being perfect, when I’m encouraged by how many people in it are just not perfect.
Chris: We’re all sinners. I think it helps.
Mike: There’s a lot there. I would encourage anyone to look those up. There’s a season and a time for everything, which also means you could go through a day or a season, or be walking with someone, where you have a lot of blah days. That’s okay. It’s okay that most of your day was blah. You’re not any less of a man. You’re not failing. You may feel all of this, by the way, but the reality is you’re no less. You’re not failing. God loves you the same today as on your most excited, non-blah days. Not a single thing has changed about His love for you or His character. With your wife and your family and your friends, not a single thing has changed in any of those relationships. And it also speaks to the importance, as we’ve said before, of community, and having an abundance of counselors. We need to hear it from outside our own heads.
Chris: I think that is the key. Isolation is not good, right? And I’m glad you mentioned that when you’re feeling that way, it can be a doorway into sinful behavior. Of course. Toward overeating. It could lead you down a path where you’re looking at porn. It could lead you to a variety of different things that are not of God. And if you have that community, those places to be able to say, “Hey, you know what? I’m not myself today. I’m not feeling 100 percent,” or “I’m feeling negative in this area,” you’re able to reach out and have somebody pour back into you and remind you of those things: God loves you, number one. And here are examples of how God loves you, through your family, through your friends, through your work, all the different things that can be named. Sometimes you just need to hear that. What I needed to hear today was just, “Hey, we don’t have to have a topic to talk about. Nothing has to be exciting.” But also being able to talk to God in that time and say, “Okay, if we’re going to talk about this topic, let’s explore it.” And ask God, “Why am I feeling this way? What do I feel like You’re not providing in this? Why is there a boredom right now?” And He answers that. He comes to the table and says, “Well, maybe the reason why is because the focus isn’t on Me. Maybe it’s on you. Maybe it’s on the situations, and not on what I can do, and how I can enter into those situations and make things completely different.” There’s a variety of answers God can bring to the table, because He’s unlimited in power and He knows everything. So going back to what you said, asking the questions is going to be helpful during those times. And it was helpful for me today, a recent example.
Mike: I think I’m probably at my worst when I’m at this crossroads of apathy, the blah kind of feeling, and then not wanting to talk about it with someone else. If you were to ask me, I’d just be like, “I’m fine. I’m good. Having a great day. Cool.” I’ve shut it down and don’t want to talk about it. Because I think those places are when I’m most tempted, because the mindset that plays in my head, which is a lie, is, “Well, I’ve already thrown in the towel, so who cares about the rest of the day?” And once I enter that mindset, it’s like, I’ve thrown in the towel, so I don’t care anymore. Then comes this flood of the sinful flesh, whatever it is I want to do or think or act on. For me, it’s just gratifying my own desires in that moment. But I feel like I only go there in a really tough way when I’m at that crossroads of blah and then not talking. So, in this example, are you always okay with talking with someone about it if they ask you, or do you just blow them off?
Chris: I think I’ve seen the power of communication more toward this half of life, and I know that a good conversation, being real and talking with people at that deep level, actually does have a lot of power, especially if you’re sharing that time with a believer. So I’m open to it.
Mike: You’re more open now than maybe you would have been when you were younger?
Chris: Definitely. Seeking it out is a different story, because I imagine everybody’s busy, and I’m thinking, do they have the time?
Mike: But you’re more open to it.
Chris: Exactly. But with the friends I have, if I were to even text them and say, “Hey man, I really need to talk to you right now,” there’s not one I can think of who would say, “Nope, don’t have time for that.” They’d say, “I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
Mike: I’m sorry I didn’t call you back the other day when you texted me.
Chris: I just moved on to numbers three and four.
Mike: We need a laugh track on here. Do we have a laugh track? Actually, I don’t think we do. Let me see. Oh, it’s not.
Chris: That’s not laughing.
Mike: We’re having fun.
Chris: What about you? I’ll just turn that back on you. Do you tend toward, “No, I don’t have time to talk about it”?
Mike: I would like to tell you that I talk about it with people, because that feels like the right answer to give. No, I think I’d rather blow people off and stew in my sin when I’m having blah days. I don’t want to work on it. I probably tend to think in my head, “I work on this stuff all the time, so I don’t want to today.” It’s just where I go. I’m just gross. I’m the worst sinner I know. I know that internally, and I think a lot of people could say that about themselves, about what goes through their minds. And I can go to a really tough place, and probably hence the blah feeling, because I’m turning my back on the Lord in those moments. I’m clearly not caring about my emotional or physical health, my real health, because I’m just feeding the flesh. I’m just doing whatever I want to do. I probably want to stay in that dark cloud. So it’s probably out of the mercy of God that I could go to bed in a really bad place, and praise God, wake up, and His mercies are new every morning. The Bible talks about that. It’s a fresh day with new opportunities. I would hope someone could hear this conversation and relate, because if we’re all honest, we all have blah days and blah moments. But don’t beat yourself up over it, because a blah day does not make you a terrible sinner or a terrible human. It makes you a human being. It makes you a real person. Someone who says they’ve never experienced a blah day, that it just doesn’t happen in their life? I’m pretty concerned for that person, to be honest. It’s going to be really hard for me to take them seriously. Maybe they really feel that way. I just don’t know if they’re being honest. But you’re not a failure, and blah is okay. That can be a normal day and a normal feeling. And I would talk to someone about it. Just share with your friends, “Hey, I’m feeling blah.”
Chris: Yeah. And they might say, “You know what? I feel blah too.”
Mike: Seriously. I think they actually will, and I think you’ll connect. We connect with each other in our weaknesses. So share that with someone. And it’s totally good to ask, “I wonder why I’m feeling this way today,” and do a little self-reflection on that. But it’s so helpful to do that with someone else who’s not in your own head. The importance of not being isolated. You can be part of a church. You can be part of a friend club. You can go to the gym. You could DM a bunch of your friends, whatever. The point is to get out of your own head. I think that is crucial, especially if you can manage to do it on blah days, which is my challenge: to do it on the same day. And I’m thankful that you processed today. That’s kind of why it’s like, man, let’s talk about this.
Chris: I reached out to my friend club.
Mike: Well, it’s a real thing. It’s a great conversation to have. And who doesn’t go through this on any given day or week? If we’re all honest, we’ve all been there. So how do you move forward through it? It’s one step at a time. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. We walk through valleys. Our lives have ebbs and flows. And when you’re in the valley, you’re moving through the valley. You’re not just standing there. So today, you may feel like you’re having a blah day and you’re not moving. You might be slowly stepping, but you are taking incremental steps through a valley.
Chris: And you never know, by talking about it with other people, what they might share with you about how they get out of those valleys. Some people are going to say, “I go work out,” or “I’ll listen to a podcast,” or just talking about it helps. But you’re going to pick up on different things that could be helpful to you down the road: “Okay, next time I feel this way, I know this is a better, healthier way.” And sometimes that might just be helping other people, so you’re not focusing on self. That leads you back to, “Okay, this is God working through me to help somebody else.” There can be a lot of power in that. It can break up the blah quite a bit, and maybe even faster than spending a lot of time circling around thinking, “Well, how do I break through the blah?” Take some action.
Mike: Is that your inner voice, though?
Chris: I hear that all the time. It’s a combination of Eeyore…
Mike: So as we wrap it up, what are one or two things, whether today or other times, that you’ve done to help you move through that blah?
Chris: Number one, letting you know I’m talking about it: “Hey, feeling kind of blah. Don’t really have anything. Not bringing much to the table. There’s not a lot I’m carrying here.” How many other analogies can we bring here? That was basically it: “Hey Mike, don’t have much.” And then being able at that point to say, “All right, well, we don’t have to stay here.” And asking God for help in that too. Saying, “Okay, God, I identify that physically, emotionally, spiritually, I’m feeling a little bit dry here. Can You change that for me?” And sure enough, He did.
Mike: That’s good. A couple of things for me: when I’ve reached out to a friend and said, “I’m having a rough day,” or “I’m feeling blah,” sometimes they’re like, “Me too.” And I’m like, “Oh, cool. It’s not just me.” I actually feel better almost instantaneously. Another one for me lately has been going on a walk. I just need to get outside, get away from it all. And a walk is, in essence, exercise. I’m just moving my body, moving my mind. I can go on a walk and listen to some music, or frankly have nothing on, and just walk. It’s not magic, obviously, but I magically come back 30 minutes later and I’m a different person. There are times when Joelle has been like, “Hey, maybe you should go for a walk.” And of course in that moment I’m like, “Well, I don’t need to go on a walk.” But then I will, and I’ll come back, and there’s just something there. It’s just the way God’s created us. It’s probably just moving around. It’s recentering. It’s breaking that mold. Those are a couple of things that have helped me. But I’m always intrigued by what helps other people. So we’d love to hear from you if you’re listening to this. One: are we just two crazy guys who have blah days, and no one else in the world has them? We think everyone else in the world has them. Can you connect with us on that? Do you have blah days? And if so, what helps you move through them, and what have you learned? We’d love to talk about that and even share it, because I think everyone can identify with different solutions and connect in those weaknesses.
Chris: A lot of good can be done if you identify it: yes, this is something that happens to me, maybe more often than I’d like. And then, what can be done about it, and who can I help as a result? So hopefully you found this helpful as you’ve listened. If you haven’t, like Mike said, we’re just two crazy guys.
Mike: Just delete the podcast.
Chris: Just don’t listen to it ever.
Mike: That’s not true. We actually want you to keep listening.
Chris: That’d be great. Yes, we do. Because we might run for president one day.
Mike: Oh, wait. Together? I think we’re going to try and push your platform. It doesn’t really sound as good as President Howard.
Chris: I think your slogan: “Let’s Mobilize with Mobley.”
Mike: Oh no. That’s never been my… Never in the history of…
Chris: No, no.
Outro: Thanks so much for joining us. Please consider rating and reviewing our podcast and hitting subscribe on whichever platform you prefer. Remember to keep moving forward, because we’re not quite there.
