I'd like to preface this by saying I'm an admitted, self-diagnosed workaholic. I take breaks to read sometimes or socialize, but since I started running my own business almost 10 years ago, I legitimately haven't known what it would be like to have a day where I wasn't focused on accomplishing as much as physically possible. Even if I took time "off" to watch a movie with friends or go to the gym, I would constantly be on my phone checking for orders, talking to customers, etc. I've been extremely jealous for years of those who work a 9-5 and then come home with only life to live. This is all to say I'm trying to work on this (maybe this is really just a therapy session for myself). The work to work less (which seems counter-intuitive now that I type it out) was helped a lot by a quote I saw recently that may hit home for many people right now:
Being is a form of doing.
We were not meant to work every waking hour of everyday, even if it's something that we enjoy doing (which thankfully, my businesses have been). If your main goal is to be as productive as possible, you may very well accomplish it, but you'll miss on on the true rewards that are right in front of you. Friends, family, get-togethers (maybe just on Zoom for right now), memories. The things I dismissed for years while pursuing dollar signs and achievement instead of the things that really matter. Things like reflecting, slowing down, appreciating, feeling. They're still verbs. Just in a different way.
Especially in quarantine life, we certainly do not need to be and should not be working as much as possible to chase a higher tax bracket or the shiny new car. It's okay to just be. Being who you are, with your gifts, your flaws, and your humanity. That's enough. Less doing. More being.
"A Single Seed" is my attempt to get out one idea every day that I've learned or accumulated over the years, with the hope that it may stick in someone else's memory bank as well. The idea may be related to fitness, business, life, or philosophy, but I think you'll find that many can change domains if you wish them to. With each seed planted, a new life awaits.
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictures-of-money/17123250059
