“In her new book THRIVE, Arianna Huffington takes a long hard look at how we define success and what it costs us: our health, our relationships, our peace of mind. We measure ourselves by action and production, competition and power: the more, the more, the more, the better. Sleep? Overrated. Stress? A fact of life. Besides, that’s what vices are for: addiction, like depression, is on the rise, as we fight constant burnout and struggle to cope.
It’s go, go, go and do, do, do. Every conversation I had seemed to eventually come around to the same dilemmas we are all facing – the stress of overbusyness, overworking, overconnecting on social media, and underconnecting with ourselves and each other. The space, the gaps, the pauses, the silence – those things that allow us to regenerate and recharge – had all but disappeared in my own life and in the lives of so many I knew.
We’re not cut out for this.
We weren’t made for this.
~ Justine Musk, The Art of Redefining Success (+ Why We Need to)
Image Credit: Eduardo Bluz via Elinka
Live & Learn 
Maybe not be made for this, but this is what we have made and we better change or evolve quickly if we want to keep going.
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Agree…
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i have learned this over time and try to live by it. the pauses are what are needed to catch one’s breath, before going on to the next sentence.
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Be curious how you remediated the problem. You’ve learned it. How did you change?
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with time and practice and presence of mind. following my natural instincts. i used to work in the fast-paced and crazy world of advertising, went and did every activity i could get my hands on, single mother of 3, student, no sleep, second job, never said no. always running.
then – one day, i decided to slow down. i realized when and where i felt happiest. i saw the pattern. i loved all of that activity but really sought out and found comfort in the quiet and down times. time mattered more to me than money. i quit my job, i had 12 dollars in the bank, went back to school, became a teacher, to work with children, still can be creative in my job and in the world, love what i do everyday, does not feel like working at all, will do it for free someday. i adore my family and friends, but say no to everyone and everything without apologies when i need time to recharge, then i am ready to go back into the world and be better for having done so, and be better with all of them as well. and ready for adventure as it comes. i can enjoy the moment without hurry or worry that i should be doing something else or wondering what will come next.
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Courageous. Motivating. Inspiring. Thank you for sharing. My Shinto
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thanks for listening.
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Reblogged this on Deadducksalive.
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We aren’t made for it. And we have to be insistent with ourselves to change it. People have greater intimacy with their iPads, PDAs and laptops than they do with those around them.
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Agree. Full stop.
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I finally learned to put a stop to the way I was living my life. Burnout teaches you to look at life differently. I retired early from my job, focused more on people and relationships. I am “so much” happier and relaxed than I have been for years. I have adopted the motto: “Retirement, where you stop making a living and start making a life.”
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
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Wonderful Francine. Thanks for sharing. Good for you.
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This might sound silly; I stopped downloading apps on my phone. I began noticing the accessibility to my “stuff”–contacts, phone calls, texts, bank accounts (ok, that one is an exaggeration) these app companies were requesting and I said “no”. My friend pointed out I am sacrificing convenience for a false sense of privacy, yet I am not constantly looking at my phone. Perhaps a small step in the right direction.
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I need to take at least this small step Carolann.
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We’ve been without internet all day today–lightening strike to the transformer or some such. Regardless of the cause, it’s been a good reminder for me that there’s more to life than electronic connectivity. I found myself feeling so “twitchy” this morning when I couldn’t get online, then realized “Good grief, Lori, it will get fixed eventually. It’s a beautiful sunny day (temps soared to nearly 60 here)–get out and enjoy life!” And I did. Did I miss my morning rituals, check-ins, all of that, absolutely. But I also got a good reminder that many fun, happy, satisfying, rewarding activities require neither wireless nor a battery…. 🙂
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Ahhh, here I thought you fell off the climbing ladder and needed some time off. 60F in your neck of the words, wow. That’s toasty!
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