I like nonfiction.
I like self-improvement podcasts.
Heck, I like all things personal growth related.
But, sometimes…
I like blasting good music, thumb drumming, air guitaring, and forgetting about all of that.
It’s called balance.
When you’ve done your best Return to gratitude— Not your to-do list.
Speeding up when you’re busy is like:
When you’re busy, unlocking productivity happens from slowing down.
Not the opposite.
Optimization is the last step of any process.
Be it building a house, starting a business, creating a new habit etc.—the fine tuning should never happen first.
In today’s world, optimization is an obsession.
Many of us are constantly on the hunt for (and are being bombarded with) optimization “hacks,” fine-tuning tricks, and hot trends that can produce any kind of measurable result.
But, without the foundation set—without the “big” things already in place—it’s ultimately just wasted time.
It’s like trying to optimize a lump of coal. You can try to clean, cut, and polish it all you want—it’ll still end up mostly as it started—coal.
If, however, you subjected that lump of coal to enough time under pressure, it’ll eventually transform into a diamond.
And diamond is what gets optimized.
If your ability to create (or do) is dependent on your need for inspiration, you’ll never fulfill your potential—especially not in today’s world.
Here’s why: distraction is the enemy of inspiration.
And if I had to pick just one word to describe the modern age we’re living in, I’d probably choose: “Distracted.”
Prior to the information explosion that came with the internet, modern gadgets, and social media—”waiting around” for inspiration was actually probably a great strategy.
Because here’s what I know about inspiration: it comes when I’m undistracted. It’s when I’m showering, staring at blank screens, meditating, walking my dog, driving, and/or sitting bored.
And “waiting around” prior to the information age probably consisted mostly of the things on that list. Today, however, “waiting around” consists mostly of… consuming distractions.
It never ceases to amaze me how quick I am to pull out my phone when I sit down in a public place alone—like when I’m waiting for my dinner party to arrive or when I’m waiting at the doctor’s office. The urge is almost unbearable.
And not just for me, but for the other phone-scrollers in the room. Or so it feels.
We’re addicted.
And because we’re addicted to distraction, we’re equally in conflict with inspiration.
This isn’t to say that we won’t get inspiration from the ocean of information that we consume—because we certainly may.
It is to say, however, that it isn’t being properly utilized. We need to do a better job of coming out of the ocean to regroup, reorganize, and reflect upon our findings.
Otherwise, we’ll continue flapping around, following treasure signs, and getting more and more lost at sea.
Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is nothing at all.
Hustle culture tells us otherwise.
Hustle culture says:
But, what hustle culture fails to tell us is:
Turn down the volume on hustle culture. Turn up the volume on the whispers of your body.
If there’s anything you should prioritize in the new year that will best help you reach your goals, it should be more blocks of nothing.
Space where you can deliberately recharge, check in with your body, and adjust your pace.
Not more ways you can work at a suboptimal levels for the sake of getting diminishing returns only to end up rebounding back to where you originally started.
No. This year, don’t add more hustle to your resolutions—add un-hustle.