The Truth Will Set You Free.
Hi There,
You’ve heard the phrase, “Happiness is an inside job.” Well, just like being happy, stress is an inside job, too— until it’s not. In last week's message I shared some thoughts about how, in many cases, stress is stealthily self-imposed under the guise of overachiever tendencies, perfectionism, and a Type-A personality.
If you’re nodding your head, I’m curious: Did you further explore the 4-burner concept I offered? If you’ve forgotten this theory, here it is in a nutshell: When you are fully focused on one dimension of your life (like work), by default, the other dimensions (like family, community and self-care) can suffer. If this resonates, why don’t you intentionally consider how you would like to spend your energy— the total of 100%?
I invite you to take a few minutes now to consider how your 4 burners currently look compared to your aspirations. And while you’re pondering, here’s another stress variable that creeps into our lives: The unconscious consideration, a.k.a. other people’s expectations. Or, should I say, what we perceive as others’ expectations of us. You may have noticed that in our society of overachievers and productivity fanatics, people flaunt being “busy” like a badge of honor. But this way of being almost always works against us.
I’ve written in the past about how “busy-ness”, in my view, is a four-letter curse word. After all, when you internalize how “busy” you are, you’re alerting your amygdala to a perceived lack or scarcity of time.
Today, I’d like to propose that although many THINK that being seen as busy is an admirable trait, you may want to think again. Take a look within yourself and assess whether what’s keeping you busy is in conflict with the activities and people you enjoy. If this is the case, then being busy may be adding another type of stress to your unconscious self. Suddenly, being busy might be reframed as wasting time.
If you’re resisting this concept, you owe it to yourself to take a breath and ask yourself if the tasks you’re busy doing are true to YOUR values or if they’re normative values. Not only will the truth set you free, but it will also diminish your stress!
To further explore your values, consider investing in coaching utilizing this unique, interactive tool for ranking personal values. I’d be happy to tell you more!
Cheers!
-Deborah
Deborah Goldstein
DRIVEN Professionals / Forbes / Linkedin
info@drivenpros.com | LinkedIn
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