There is a hell of a lot going on in life at the moment and I feel like all I do is work at something, whether it be jobs, Hive, holding management or renovation - it is relentless. However, as I keep saying to those close to me,
This is the year.
My wife will say that I say the same thing every year and that is kind of the way it has been in regards to work, but this is the year where that work starts to show its value, but this doesn't mean there is no more work to do.
With all the things piling up, I do feel a little stressed at the moment, like there is not enough room to take a deep breath, but I am also super excited about the potential the year holds and I don't want to drop the ball at the last moment. So, I will breath shallowly and move as fast as I possibly can for as long as I can.
Boom or bust.
I don't plan on ever burning out in my life, though I know there must be a limit somewhere inside me where my body just says - no more. I think that I am not too close to that limit yet given my experience in the past, but maybe as I get older, I am also getting softer, more prone to pressure cracks.
Anyone else feeling the pressure of the situation, where real life and digital life collide?
For me, it is all about coping mechanisms in how to deal with stress and my number one tool is writing, which puts me into a bit of a quandary, because I write on Hive and tend to earn a little, so I am careful how often I post, generally keeping it to two a day - but because of perhaps the stess, I end up writing a lot of words in those two posts. I think I should keep them shorter however for readability, which is what I will try to do.
It is funny though, some people have said when I talk about how busy I am that I should "write less", but I think that would make me busier, as I would probably feel far more stressed and under pressure. Writing for me is like a pressure release valve and as long as I write often enough, I ma able to work between quite effectively.
But as said, this is a bullyear and the work I am doing has the potential to set me up for life and not have to work again. There is risk involved and some of the risks taken are not what the average person would do, but that is part of the game.
The biggest challenge at the moment, is trying to get all of the IRL work done as my mind is focused on where the majority of value and potential is, and that is not my current job. This makes it hard to get motivated to do all of the nitty gritty tasks required in the workplace, when there are so many other things I could be doing instead, that have far greater value potential. However, since I am still relatively risk averse and don't want to leave myself exposed, I will maintain employment level for as long as I possibly can, just in case.
Perhaps everyone in this world has at some stage felt that they don't have enough money to operate well, but I have spent far too much of my life in that position and don't want to be there again. So, if I can do the work, I will do the work until I no longer can. As a freelancer and small business owner for so long, I have learned to not turn down work when available, but I ma getting to the point where some of the work is just not worth my energy, so I have started turning a little bit of it away.
It is a weird feeling and is another risk, because if all the other things don't work out, it means that I might never have the opportunity to get that work again, leaving me in a hole. I don't like being in a hole and I don't like being stuck in a rut, I like to have the possibility to move.
Crypto is the ultimate for me in mobility, as it doesn't tie me to a location financially or for employment. Essentially, if for example things go well on Hive and the price increases to for instance a base of 2 dollars, I can likely cover all the debts and live off curation, anywhere in the world. Of course, that is a pipedream, so I have to have more irons in the fire than that.
For someone from the outside looking in, what I do might seem crazy and the risks high - but there are different kinds of people. While it is impossible, we are all all looking for some kind of certainty and security, which makes us cautious. This can present in different ways, where for example, a person does not risk what they have, even if there is the potential for gain. I take a slightly different past, where I open myself up to risk, but mitigate it through activity, through different kinds of work.
The worst thing and perhaps where I would feel the most stressed in life, is if I was unemployable, meaning that not only wouldn't I be able to get a job, but I wouldn't be able to find something to do to earn on either. Because of this fear, I have made myself hyper-employable through work ethic, meaning I will work hard to get the job done. Distributing this across many varied streams is challenging, but the "security" it brings through having multiple fallback positions brings a far greater peace of mind. And, I never really have to think about what I should do, which is also likely why I don't have too much trouble finding something to write about either, as it becomes a massive feedback loop through the distributed network of activity, much like a decentralized community enables, except the network of work is owned by me personally.
It does get pretty manic here at times and my head swirls as it tries to find a point of focus, but as soon as I sit down and begin to write, the focus starts to return and clarity of what the next steps will be are found. Even now, I can feel the difference in my body and fingers, as my mind has consolidated and recharged, ready to get on with a task that I have been putting off for a couple days already, but is due tomorrow.
Coping mechanisms aren't about survival, they are about strengthening abilities to continue and everyone should have strategies that they can rely on, in both the good and the bad times. Writing saves me from burnout, by igniting the fire within a couple of times a day. Some people meditate by sitting quietly, some by smashing a keyboard.
How are you coping?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]