There is so much waiting going on when we are in the midst of personal change. Our careers and our livelihoods depend on us finding a rhythm in which to live and work, and we feel the pressure of churning out good work consistently. Those of us who work on commission feel the added weight of client satisfaction, deadlines, and dividing the line between business and home life.
On the other hand, we sometimes wake up cold to a career stagnation, where business is at an all time low and we want nothing but to be busy and lively and successful. There is a middle path we must find in both scenarios, because being too busy and not busy enough are both not where we want to be. The middle path is a rhythm we must find if we have any hope of healthy growth.
Here are three quick steps to finding your middle path and feeling sane again:
1. Stop all work for one or more days, as soon as possible. You cannot recollect yourself if you are stuck in disorienting void of exhaustion or disappointment. So make the arrangements to take some personal time and use it appropriately.
Your first instinct will be to relax and do nothing all day, because we think relaxing is somehow an appropriate response to being upset. But when any machine or factory (you) is shut down for maintenance, it is maintenance that must be done.
2. Spend 10 minutes to an hour on your day off writing down all of the things that are frustrating you, stream-of-consciousness style. Just let it all pour out of you onto paper in a river of swear words and bile. Go crazy and illustrate your frustration in as many words as necessary.
All done? Immediately go outside and set your pieces of paper on fire. Literally sit down and burn them with a lighter, and sip a drink while you calmly watch your beautiful tantrum turn into absolutely nothing.
3. Liberating right? Now use this natural high to sit down and, for 10 minutes to an hour, write all about how you really envision your successful life. What are the day-to-day happenings in this perfect life? What are you thinking about as you prepare breakfast in this perfect life? How do you conduct business? What sort of earnings do you deserve? How much time do you have with family, the significant other, and the kids?
Keep writing until you've developed a solid image in your brain of how you'd like life to unfold in the near future. And when you're done, do not burn it. Put it under your smartphone on your nightstand. Read or skim it in the mornings. Realize that it is your new bible, and that you knew what you wanted all along.
Very soon, it usually takes about two days, the new vision you created will take over, and you will find a new rhythm. You will begin to grow and change, and you should simply step back and let it happen. This is your life.
