Surviving The Infection of Zombie Indifference

Ahhhh run here come the zombies! Hehehe… 

Ok say I caught your attention with the title, but really, seriously – don’t be a zombie in your own life. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a zombie is essentially an undead human. For me, this conjures up a few mental pictures. However, the trait that the undead have that I want to focus your attention on is indifference. 

I’m sure we’ve all felt from time to time that we are going through the motions in our lives with no real direction or purpose. This recurring mindset can start to infect our being and little by little trickle into every portion of our lives.

Now despite zombies being all cute and cuddly, I’m sure you’re not that keen on becoming one. So let’s work out a sure fire way of avoiding that dreaded zombie curse/virus whatever you want to call it.

Step 1) Acknowledge that you’re Infected

The first step to solving any problem is first to acknowledge you actually have one. This is because as human zombies we tend to ignore or get used to the things that we do/see every day. I’m sure some of you reading this may think you’re not infected, but truth be told most of us are. 

There are plenty of scenarios where we act in routine ingrained ways. And sometimes unfeeling ways toward our lives and those around us. It’s easy enough to do. Tune the world out, and survive to see the end of the day or that train trip. That’s quite a philosophy. Or maybe when you’re with your family you’re also glued to a screen. So instead of absorbing their joys and stories you aren’t really hearing. 

And if you think you’re not infected you may be in denial. Nobody wants to admit they’re a real-life zombie. But there is something you can do about it!

Step 2) Identify Why Being a Zombie may be Costing You

As with most “infections”, there is a cost to the host’s health. How long have you been infected? What are the symptoms you display? What is the scope of the problem?

In a previous post we discussed the importance of being conscious about the decisions you make. Indifference is the mindset that is both a cause and an effect of unconscious decision making. Which is why it’s important to know what’s preventing you from being more than just undead. But more importantly why you want to change the behavior because change is hard!

So what is walking around being a zombie, someone who really doesn’t pay attention, or be present in their own lives, costing you? 

Is the indifference causing you anxiety or depression? Or maybe it’s causing you to have relationship problems, be that a relationship with yourself, your loved ones, or your colleagues. Either way, you’re probably already thinking of that time your partner told you something but you weren’t really paying attention. Or maybe you were at an event but your mind was a million miles away and then someone asked you a question and you had to fumble to respond. This is a classic case of being infected with the zombie virus.

When you’re too busy working on autopilot you may miss out on connecting with others, you will probably also find it isolates you and can lead to a cycle of indifference. Because if you’re not paying attention to someone else’s thoughts, they’re not likely to return the favor. 

Step 3) Apply the Antidote

So, once you’re sure you’ve identified the infection, and figured out that being a zombie isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The final step is getting the antidote. So what exactly is the antidote to the zombie curse of indifference?

The answer is passion.

Simple right?

If you’re like me you’ve probably heard the word “passion” a little too often. People on TV asking “What’s your Passion?” Or often on reality shows, they have a “Passion for (insert verb here i.e. music, dance, baking, food…)”. But what does that actually have to do with indifference – well the thing is that when you’re indifferent you lack passion and motivation.

You may find it difficult to jump the hurdles that life throws in your way to try and stop you. After a while, you may even stop jumping these hurdles and the next one just smacks straight into you. 

So how do we fix this? How do we grab that antidote and apply it to our lives? 

Well, first it’s good to see if you can find something even if it’s teeny tiny in your life that brings you joy or peace or fulfillment. Maybe it’s the walk through the park on your way to work, because you enjoy watching the leaves on the trees change day after day and hearing the birds singing. Maybe it’s the one quiet moment of the day just before your head hits the pillow. You acknowledge you made it through the day.

So now you have a small drop of antidote, but honestly, that’s never going to be enough to cure your zombie infection – you need more! 

“Ah great – more passion, she says,” yep I hear you moaning about that tasty morsel of a word, but really this isn’t about the word it’s a mindset.

The mindset of indifference has a flip side and the antidote – the real purest form of the antidote of passion, is gratitude.

Gratitude – the Real Antidote

Without gratitude there can be no passion because to have passion means you appreciate what you already have and are willing to grow it. 

Now people these days also talk a lot about gratitude and how important it is, and for this one, the hype is totally on the money! Gratitude is the most effective way to changing your perspective on your life and revving the engine of passion within you!

Because when you’re feeling ratty about life and like nothing you do matters you’re focussing too much on the wrong things.

Enjoy a revived passion for life by shifting your focus from all-consuming negativity to drinking from the fountain of positivity. Then you can allow that zombie infection that plagues you become less and less prominent in your life.

At first, it will be hard to find the good when you’re so used to looking for the bad, it will feel unusual to conjure up what pleasant things happened today. But like seeking out diamonds in a field full of coal, you’ll quickly start to see the value in this pursuit.

Step 4: Inoculate Against Further Infection

Finally, once you have applied the antidote of gratitude the haze of negativity will start to thin. And you’ll start to see the things in your life that you enjoy spending time doing. Maybe you’ll be totally wild and go sit in that park you love and spend five minutes or maybe longer savoring that portion of your day. Maybe you do really love music, or dance, or cooking, perhaps there’s a way you can inject more of these activities into your life. 
Because by doing this we’ll stop the zombie curse from returning and be well on our way to living our best life. And since it’s the only life we’re sure we’ve got we may as well have it be as full as possible with experiences and fulfillment and joy. 

I’d love to hear from you if you have been feeling like you’ve been plagued with the zombie infection of indifference. Maybe you’ve had some success at applying the antidote of gratitude and inoculated against further infection.

And if you’re in need of some guidance to identifying what your passions are why not sign up to receiving our free Dream Building 101 Manual and why not consider a Dream Coach to help you.