Racing through life will accomplish one thing for you….
You get to the end faster!
You’ll lie on your deathbed realizing how much you missed and how many things you wished you did.
But not if you slow down now!
This is something I find myself getting caught up in all too often. I think about working too hard or skiing too hard, and end up neglecting other areas of my life like dating, reading, and relaxing.
Hell I beat myself up when I sleep in until 8 am. Regardless, it feels amazing and I can still put in an 8-hour workday with no problem.
But that’s mostly because I am a morning person who usually gets up at 5:30 am.
I’m no Dalai Lama but it seems like life is about the balance of fulfillment and joyfulness. So why not optimize for these two emotions instead of running around trying to be more productive than the next person.
With 7.4 billion people on this planet, I have accepted the fact that I am not going to be the best at anything in the world. This is humbling, freeing, and motivating.
All I have to do throughout my life is try as hard as I can. I don’t have to outperform the entire world in one area of life.
And what I’ve noticed with the handful of people I’ve talked to who are world-class performers in their category, is that they have spent so much time and energy on becoming the greatest that other areas of their life suffer.
Imagine being a famous person at a young age. By the time you’re 25 you still have no idea who you are or what you truly want.
In my opinion, completely stopping work and slowing down too much would be bad. But taking more time off of work than most people, and working like a lion is great.
Most people work like cows, they graze from 9-5 50 weeks a year and some people even work all the time outside of these hours. This consistent slog is a recipe for burnout.
But working like a lion, sprinting towards short-term goals, then resting for extended breaks is far more productive and enjoyable.
Do you want to slow your life down and become a lion?