Be aware of overload!
There are different kinds of people in the world. There are some (few) who are able to work 80 hours a week and they stay energetic and in good moods. And there are others who don't have the same level of energy, and maybe even a different psychological structure.
You need to be one of those who are not emotional affected when something goes wrong to keep up with your energies and not get burnt out. Sure, you pay it with something else, for instance with a lack of time with your family, you might even not be able to create a family, if you are constantly immersed in your work. And it is your choice. If it is fine for you, why not? Why not spend the life working on something which is meaningful for you - and hopefully your meaning is not just having MONEY, but something valuable you can do with your money for the benefit of a larger group, your family, your country, the world.
And there is another group of humans - traditionally believed as only women, but it is not really true: the sensitive creatures whose emotions get aroused with almost everything which happens in their lives, if good or bad. Emotions are forces which MOVE us humans. And while being moved the focus necessarily cannot stay fully on what you have planned to do and what you are working on. Life means continual change, continuous movement.
The Gurus say you need to stay focused on one thing and don't stop before you reach it, no matter what you meet on your way. This certainly works for the first type of people I have described above, but it is disastrous for the second type, the sensitive types, people who are sensitive, if they know it or not.
Most of the second type people realize their sensitivity only in the moment of breakdown and burnout. They believe to be able to go on as idealistically described. They try it, get some good results, insist to get on the same way and don't realize that their system could cope with a short term weight of working hours, information overload and ignored feelings. But this type of people just cannot do this unless they are willing to pay the high prize of burnout, breakdown, illness and premature death.
What is the way out?
In my opinion we need to learn our own reality as the human being that we are. We need to REALLY get to know ourselves, recognize the signs of overload - and do something to take the over-weight from us. It is not easy to step out of old habitss and old ideas of what and how we should be. But becoming ourselves, really, on a very deep basis, is the only remedy. That means: explore and recognize what our drivers are (often they are the expectations of somebody else, not our own), find out what deeper values we have for our life - which won't last eternally. Recognize the finiteness of our time and resources and make very good choices with what we spend our precious time.
Many more to say here, please tell me your take on it. I guess, for me this was a way to tell you the reason why I don't engage so often here anymore, why my rank came down from 28 to 114 today and why it will fall even further down. I love engaging with others, it is nice when replies to your posts and comments arrive - but at the end of the day I was not really able to make deep connections which would justify hours a day sorting through my emails. I had come to a point of felt overload and I had to decide where to focus on. I am one of these people who respond emotionally to every little thing which costs a lot of energy - and the project and goals of my life really need my emotional energy more than my email inbox.
Please understand me right. My decision to stay away from engaging here in WA has nothing to do with you, especially if you are a friend with whom I conversed a lot. It is just a "security measurement" for not hitting the burnout point. And I recommend to all of you who have read so far: Check yourself how far your overload has gone and what you need to cross out of the list for staying well and healthy! It might be WA, Facebook or whatever sucks you into a seemingly interesting world and eats up your energy.
I wish you a good life
Heidi
Recent Comments
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I can certainly empathise with what you say, Heidi. We need to focus and prioritize. I'm flying up through the ranks here but my engagement in the community is at the expense of training. I feel guilty if I don't respond to people's posts either with likes or comments but it just isn't possible to read every one.
Slow progress is still progress after all and it is direction rather than speed that determines success. Focus, prioritize and work the plan at a pace that suits us. That is what we all need to do.
Thanks for a great post.
Kind regards
Richard
Thank you, Rich, for your answer. What you write about you is exactly the process I went through and there comes the moment where we need to prioritize where to put our energies. I am sure that you will make the right decisions at every given moment yourself!
I wish you a good journey here and in your life!
Heidi
Hi, Heidi, that was a very good read and I can understand well where you´re coming from. When I feel overload, in this case from WA emails/community, website stuff, and fb, I take a break till I feel up to it again and go at it with renewed energy. And, yes, then my rank drops and my site looks inactive. So be it, it works for me. Health and wellbeing first, then everything else.
You have a good life too!
"So be it", yes A nice way to put it!
Thanks for your answer! And I appreciate your comments on Facebook, too! (I try to not show up a lot on FAcebook but my posts go automatically from G+ to Facebook, so I might not always see you there....
No worries, Heidi. And I must look into the automated stuff once I have more social media accounts.
hi heidi, nice to see you briefly.
glad you are able to concentrate on your business, maybe in the future when you are not as busy you will pay it back.
i am finding the same, not as much time to stay and chat, too many emails and too many distractions.
as you say it is a journey of discovery - it is not for everyone. but those who find that it appears to work for them brilliant.
it will eventually give you the lifestyle you dreamed about at the start.
it sounds like you are getting to grips with your business, i am glad and i wish you well for the future.
phil
Glad to see you, Phil! I have always appreciated your kindness and help in this community and I do believe that the connection remains in a certain degree despite not being active as much as we would like. I am very much concentrating on my (several) websites and need to finish the one for my non-profit for then get free advertising with Google. That's when I hope that things really will go ahead. In the meantime we are doing our weekly shows and I write blogposts, all of which eats a lot of time, concentration and just preparation and after-work. I am certainly not just enjoying spring - which at the other hand would be a good idea. It is wonderful right now here in Italy!
I relate with your post. I find myself reflecting on what is most important. Finding a good balance is a trial indeed. I'm sure many of us find themselves in the same predicament. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, Kevin, we will come to this point, sooner or later, especially when we get a little older...
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When I first started in WA I clicked to follow a lot of others then my email was beragged with WA posts I had no time for that so I left for while. I am now coming back to learn to build website so I can advertise a business thats making money easily and effortlessly. Its just what I wanted. Thank God and I'm sure others could benefit too.