The ominous pressure.
To do more. To have more.
More, more, more.
I am very, very susceptible to putting pressure on myself to get things done.
As I come upon 38 years of age, I feel it now more than ever.
And what about you, can you relate to the stress-pressure feeling?
For me, it is both a blessing and a curse.
While it drives me towards success, it also can drive me to the point of exhaustion. It doesn’t lend to the path of least resistance which I believe is the best for taking more efficient action.
For me it feels like a constant, pushing feeling, when I am caught in a pressure trap. As if there’s an inner pressure pushing out of my head, and the pressure inward that tries to push me forward.
I can feel my vitality being squeezed out of my mind, body and soul.
Or it can feel like a hamster in wheel type of energy. In my head, in my chest.
Like today, I have been exhausted from a weekend out and about. I came to realize that yet again, after many months of constant networking and working on new projects, I still feel the impact of that.
I am in a big growth phase of my self-growth and coaching business, I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough. Not uncommon when you are growing your business that is a common feeling to have. No don’t cry any tears for me, seriously.
But still, I am talking about something different here.
This is a feeling I’ve had most of my life. This pressure-beneath-the-surface of always need to be doing something, changing, moving forward and progressing. I love that about myself, because it makes me challenge myself, to keep learning and to go for what I want.
I think it makes me push beyond the status-quo. That’s the story I tell myself, at least.
And yet, I also hate this ambitious, pressuring drive, because I will inevitably burn myself out, take actions that are unnecessary and waste energy. It prevents me from taking right aligned action.
Though I’m a big believer in helping people bust apart limiting beliefs and mindsets, our bodies have limits clearly. Stress takes its toll, energy gets depleted.
I am not saying that putting pressure on oneself is always the primary reason. I am taking this as a slice of life than could be a major player in feeling overwhelmed and/or exhausted. Diet, exercise, sleep and other factors certainly play a role, too.
So what can we do to take the pressure off, that we’ve learned to put on ourselves to get results at the cost of our aliveness and vitality?
Chill – Sit – Wait.
That is right, chill out. Turn off all electronic devices. Get a glass of water, cup of coffee or tea and sit. And wait.
Don’t act on that pressured feeling. Let it runs its course and then act after it subsides. We have to untrain this pressured do-do-do response. Otherwise we keep rewarding ourselves for acting on it and keep the cycle going.
In fact, I am going to take a short break right now as I’m writing this, because my eyes are bugging out of my head, and I’m feeling the pressure to push on through to the finish.
Ok, I’m back. I ate a mango, and a piece of chocolate. Drinking some water.
Look for a better way
By better, I mean more relaxed, more efficient. Things that stop you from spinning your wheels, or doing extra busy work.
Here’s a zany idea: hire a personal virtual assistant (cheap if you go overseas) and teach them to do tasks you don’t want to do. I am talking to everyone here, not just business owners.
Show them how to do things that drive you bat-crap-crazy (thanks Mia Voss) – so you can straight chill and recharge your vitality. So you can focus on expressing your brilliance, instead of keeping up with the mundaine, energy drains that drag down your soul.
Call a friend, ask them to come help you out, or talk to you so you can chill out.
Leverage resources we have in this modern day and age to work for you. And friends, leverage the hell out of them, lean on them.
You see, your time and vitality is important. Important as hell.
Lastly, go with the flow. Surrender to it.
When all else fails, succumbing to your tiredness. Stop working for a while. Clear your schedule. Surrender to the overwhelm.
We are all caught in the drift of life, and so much is out of our control. This even rubs me as I type this, because I help people shift their perspectives in order to gain more personal response-ability, and yet so much is out of our control.
Yes, it is a zen paradox of letting go of control to have more control.
Control over the little channel of life that passes through us, and comes from that which is so much greater than us.
Your life vitality is important, and the pressure to produce and get things done is just chasing the dragon, when your life suffers from it.
When the pressure is on, stop the chase.
Let it go.
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-David
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