For The Go-Getters That Just Can't Slow Down

Second semester, here we are. Weeks seem to go by like days and days like minutes, except in Econ power hours. Those go on forever.

Growing up, we’re trained to think big and plan ahead. I came into senior year with the intention of making a strong, independent woman of myself, yelling my ideas and theories for the world to hear, and finding a job that would help me change an industry, making billions of dollars and using it to end world hunger and then probably conquering the universe by the time I’m 30 and ready to settle down.

Stop.

You’re failing a class, haven’t slept, and forgot to take your socks off before you got in the shower this morning.

Thinking big is exciting and planning is important, but if you’re like me it can force you out of the present if you aren’t careful. My mind goes from 0 to 60 faster than the Porsche 911 Carrera S I got to drive last weekend. My mom constantly tells me “come back to today,” one of those annoying mom things that you nod and ignore.

In reality, it’s a trickle-down effect. Some dead guy named Maslow made this triangle thing a long time ago called the "hierarchy of needs." If you haven’t heard of it, check out this lovely visual aid.

Bottom to top, we’ve got to start with the basics. Sleep. Eating right. Mental well-being. Mindfulness. Self-actualization comes later. It’s not until we are taking care of ourselves and our basic needs in the present that we can make these dreams happen.

Odyssey readers, I challenge you and myself to take a step back and put yourself in the present. Do something today that might seem unproductive, but clears your mind.

So yeah, maybe I know that Mary Barra from General Motors was one of Forbes Most Powerful Women two years in a row and the first female CEO of an automotive company ever... And that I want to be the second. But for today I’m going to take a nap and watch a football game.