It might sound radical, but when was greatness achieved as a result of sluggish work ethic combined with wishes rather than must’s? If you’re worried that once you’ve reached a goal you’ll have nothing to look forward to, stop. Stop treating reality as an experience that ends without you. You can stay connected, create and be aware for as long as you have consciousness. Allow yourself to live in the present and make every minute worth wile.
Time off in lieu is a concept that can trick us into thinking that when we invest our time into something, we can then back time. This might be doable as part of the workweek convention, but let us not be fooled that time can be claimed back. Time is the only universal currency that we trade at any given time and it’s the one area in which we are all equal.
We created a category of time unaccounted for called leisure time or free time. ‘Free’ time is as valuable as we make it. If we use it to up the quality of our lives by bringing value and growing, every minute of our life can add to a positive balance. When we give our time to consuming the hyperrealities portrayed by Netflix, television, social media, celebrity personas and so on, we trade our time and even then, it’s not free. We pay money to spend time and the effect that these activities have on us and our evolution is negative. Good night sleep versus going out drinking? One good deal over a bad deal.
All time is accounted for in the grand scheme of things, even though we might not always keep track of it. So whenever we look at people making more money than us or pursuing their dreams, we must remember that they are simply making a better time trade. They choose to create, rather than consume. And once you add value, you not only get rewarded financially, but the impact on your on growth will be positive.
We tend to want to eliminate completely built-up stress, either through activities that clear our mind, such as meditation or exercise, or through activities that give us pleasure at the expense of our long-term wellbeing – drinking, stress eating etc. Focusing on tension release without accounting for the long-term impact of how we do it creates a bigger negative impact in the long run than the immediate positive effect.
Experiencing tension is a good opportunity to pause and understanding what led us to this moment. Is it frustration with our own decisions or some things that are outside of our control. Once we understand the root cause, we can empower ourselves to change the way we react to situations. Reactions are natural, but they are also specific to each individual. We react based on what we perceive as normal. A broader example is how some cultures celebrate death, while others celebrate the birth of a child. Our values are specific to us.
Tension is our body and brain reacting to events throughout the day and storing a sense of alertness that cannot be maintained for a long period of time. Managing tension is a life skill that allows us to clear out the clouds and see the sky clearly. Under a clear sky we are more likely to stick to our path than in semi-darkness. Also, seeing more friends than threats in people will attract more kindness.
Ready to breath the relief of the weekend? It took me a while to realize that I get as much of the weekend as I am awake and productive. If we think of the weekend as a recharge and energize experience for the week ahead, we are limiting our growth. Working Monday to Friday in a sometimes repetitive role handicaps us, shatters our dreams and reinforces limitations. But applying discipline over the weekend to achieve whatever it is we set our mind to might actually make us feel more lively and in charge of our own lives than any amounts of sleep and lazing around.
What we need is what we tell ourselves that we need. If we think we need comfort food when things are not working out or 48 hours to ‘recharge’ by doing nothing, we will waste years of hour lives. Living is personal to each one of us, unless we adhere to codes that inhibit our growth and make us settle for less. These social constructs make us act the same way as the majority and unless there is a bored to death and wait for things to happen competition, chances are we are nowhere near succeeding at building a life of our own. Make your choice of how you want to live your life.
The rational answer is ‘no’, but our natural instinct often says otherwise. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves in making sure that we don’t miss out on opportunities. If you’re at the early stages in creating a business, the culture of many entrepreneurs can be hard work rather than smart work.
Think about how much more effective would be to work those extensive hours on smart work. Every human interaction is an opportunity to learn, but the lesson might at times be that you’d like to do things differently. Learn from other people’s burnout before experiencing it yourself and understand that long hours at a low productivity rate are counterproductive.
The more opportunities we pursue, the more we increase our chance of success. If we can’t put in much effort into any of these chances, we are at risk of covering too much ground with too little attention to detail. Knowing our limitations means that we can turn our assets into great advantages.
As much as we like to find excuses in how busy we are or how challenging our life is, personally I still sometimes find myself stuck in the loop of nonproductive behavior.
Keeping track of every move we make is tiring on its own, but people who have made considerable progress in their area of interest have done so by measuring progress. We celebrate birthdays and a new year not just for the opportunity to party, but because we can look back at how far we came.
Tracking progress weekly does add meaning to the one year milestones we’ve set. It helps us stay on track and if binge-watching Netflix for a week is a poor use of time, imagine what it means doing so for a full year. Time to get our house in order. What is the one thing you want to focus on? By setting a priority discipline will naturally follow.
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