Our society often idealises being busy. A full schedule, overtime hours. The ‘grind’. There are times in our life that we need to take action or the things we want to happen simply won’t happen. Being able to kick ourselves up a gear and get things done is a necessary skill in study, work, and general life.
But it is essential that we remember that life must have balance. Ancient Chinese philosophy calls this Yin and Yang. Yin is rest, Yang is activity. In order to flourish we must strive to balance the two sides. 52 weeks of intense work is simply not balanced by 2 weeks of relaxation. 18 hours of high-stimulation conscious time is not balanced by 6 hours of exhausted sleep.
If this kind of schedule becomes our new normal it will end in burnout. This year, next, in 10 or 20 years. Whenever it comes knocking, burnout will turn your life upside down. Burnout is a crash harder than you’ve ever thought you could crash, and there’s no bouncing right back up from that one.
The importance of important
What is important to you, in your life? Taking the time to reflect on what keeps you busy, and how important that thing is to you may well save your life – or your life as you know it.
Important is a necessary definition. If everything is important, then nothing is. If you take the time to listen to your heart, it will tell you what really matters to it. You may be surprised by what you find. Often it is what keeps us busiest that ultimately is of least importance to us.
The importance of letting go
Once we know what’s really important to us, it’s a matter of finding time and making space for it in our lives. How do we do that? We ask ourselves “what is it that I need to stop doing?”
What do I continue to do that lost its shine a long time ago?
What am I doing that doesn’t serve me any longer?
What habits do I keep that have lost their original purpose?
Has an old problem’s solution become a new problem?
