Embracing the rhythm of days

Last month I felt worn out. I’d completely filled up my time with numerous tasks. In hindsight, all of them were things I wanted to do, each worth consideration, and having earned a right to be on my todo list. But taken together it was too much. And if we’re being honest I still haven’t figured out the right balance. But I realized something.

I wrote about saying no partially as a way to allow myself to accept that it’s ok to push back against the pressure to do everything. In another piece I also wrestled with ways to get the little tasks done that need attention.

These posts, along with others, have been a way to deal with the hedonic treadmill of life.

When things feel like they’re too crazy, a healthy mind can kick in, smooth out the concerns, and level down the chaos. This helps us to adapt and shift to varying degrees of busyness.

As a husband and parent of two kids, I’m objectively doing more things than I’ve ever been before in my life. But, ask 19 year old me if life was crazy and I would have thought my life couldn’t possibly fit more things in. Work and sleep seemed to be all I had time for.

But, thankfully, we adjust, adapt, and shift based on new tasks that come our way. What we can handle grows to account for the need.

However, in the last few weeks I was feeling overwhelmed.

Then I had a few great weekends away from work and came back to it with fresh perspective. The shift into different modes got excited again for things again, and helped me see new possibilities, along with previous ideas, in a new light.

I’d gotten to the point where I felt like I had nowhere to go, I was without breathing room. But then things changed, and shifted to where I felt inspired again. I wanted to jump into ideas with fresh eyes.

This cycle, thankfully, comes and goes, and I’ve started to adjust for it. I’ve learned to embrace an acceptance of it all. If I feel too much is happening, or start to feel nothing at all, the season will pass. By simply giving myself space I allow my mind and body to adjust and recover.

This is why it’s so key to find time to rest.

That doesn’t usually mean sleeping and doing nothing. But it could. In some cases you might straight up need to catch up a few extra hours of REM. What it typically means, though, is to allow for a shift in activity.

If you’re like me that might mean taking time away from the computer, finding a hobby, doing something, anything, to shake up how your day is looking and where your trajectory is headed.

Recently my son and I have been watching the Marvel Cinematic Unvierse. We’ve started in an adjusted chronological order and are currently on Doctor Strange.

The evenings spent watching through the MCU are different than normal. Instead of staying up later and playing with different ideas for business, I’m watching some fun movies.

And that’s a good thing.

I’m accepting a temporary shift in my habits, allowing my brain time to recover in the background without devoting every waking bit of energy to forward momentum on work. Instead I can just enjoy being with my family, watching some great (and a few not-so-great) movies.

This is life.

We shouldn’t always do the same.

We shouldn’t always push to the breaking point in every area. We also shouldn’t hold back and stop out of concern for the possibility of failure.

A life worth living has excitement and energy followed by pause and consideration.

This back and forth, this change, is like the every changing tides. Each cycle allows for recovery and growth.

When I come back from a period of rest, I often feel fired up and ready to charge into new directions, or pickup the baton for things that I’d previously tried, but felt were at a dead end.

Knowing this rhythm, seeing it, and accounting for it, can do such much for our mental state.

We’re not stuck in a rut of our own imagining, where we’re never able to exit, never able to change. Instead, we can take the current moment for what it is, recognize we’re in a high or low time, and know that just around the corner is a change that we can embrace.

When I go from a period of doing just way too much, I can expect that the natural feelings of wanting to pull back are ok, I shouldn’t shy away from accepting the change, and should actively appreciate these life changes.