I just got back from four days of focusing on high performance and the techniques, strategies, and mindsets that help high performers succeed, thrive, get more done, and feel more joy. As you can probably imagine, I’m pretty energized. I’m so excited about the new ideas and information I’m already using in my own life and sharing with clients.
One thing that I found very powerful was that out of four days that were all about how to be successful with your goals, your health, and your missions in life, we spent less than one day focused on productivity.
Getting stuff done is important, but as I have shared, productivity is totally overrated. In fact, sometimes our drive to be productive is the thing that is getting in the way of succeeding with our goals.
Being good at doing does not mean you are good at succeeding.
For a lot of smart, busy women, “doing” is our comfort zone, but that doesn’t mean it’s always our best option. We feel good when we are being productive, creating results, and getting things done.
It helps us feel effective. It’s often the go-to response when we feel lost or confused or anxious or even tired.
Unfortunately, a lot of what we produce probably gets us nowhere but worn out. We live in a time of information and communication overload where there is never an end to what you can do or work on.
The instinctive “what should I do?” response is what creates that feeling of overdrive, running on a hamster wheel, chronic exhaustion, and a lot of the emotional overeating and simply not taking the time or the care that allows us to thrive.
Sometimes the most productive thing we can do for our performance and our success is to let go of doing and focus on how we are being.
The cure for overload and stress is rarely doing more. As counter-intuitive as it seems when your inbox or your life is overflowing, sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is to stop. And spend even a few moments to simply be.
What space opens up in your mind and in your heart when you do nothing?
Lately, I’ve been paying special attention to how I am choosing to spend my precious energy. Want to try it?
Ask yourself:
How much of your doing is really productive and how much of your doing is simply keeping you busy?
How would your life be different if your focus was on being and feeling a certain way instead of on all the things you need to do? What would change?
Of everything on your to-do list for the week, what would it look like to narrow it down to the twenty percent that would have the biggest impact? Is there anything you would instantly cross off?
What would get better and what would be easier if you were less busy?
What would change with the way you eat and the way you take care of yourself if you were doing less?
Does being less busy and having time to do nothing make you anxious or uncomfortable? You might be surprised how many busy women feel this way. Can I suggest that this is something critically important to pay attention to?
When’s the last time you spent at least five minutes sitting in stillness and simply being – sinking deeply into your own sweet self and noticing what is going on – inside your mind, your body, and your heart?
Over the last few years, I’ve finally made meditation a routine and important part of my life. That daily practice of being has become an important anchor that reverberates through my day.
Do you have a daily practice of being? What if you did? What would change for you?
Take good care,
