The space, the gaps, the pauses, the silence – had all but disappeared

~ Live & Learn

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“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

16 thoughts on “The space, the gaps, the pauses, the silence – had all but disappeared”

      1. 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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  5. 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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  6. 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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  7. 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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