Skip to main content

Life and Death

Bonus time, big projects at work to complete, goals set for 2012 in motion, and awards season--media is buzzing.

And death--mid-winter, and it seems several artists are offing themselves, some after a torrid affair with addiction. Deep mid-winter.

Workaholism is an addiction as well: one that separates us from the light of our love, our spine, that which makes us most human. It drives us to join with our corporations, rather than our whole selves.

All addictions drain us of our life vitality.

The comments around Whitney's regal presence, talent, voice and the subtraction addiction was from all of that, remind me deeply that our gifts are irrevocably damaged by driving too hard towards pleasure. That pleasure can be a job well done, a project complete, a raise, promotion...

I guess I'm most reminded in this to listen to the support from those who love us. The search for pleasure (whether the high of Valentine's Day Chocolates or a job well done, a rival bested) can trigger for some of us: more, stronger, higher, better, richer, longer. And that drive can sometimes never be fulfilled.

We have to listen to our wise and trusted others, whose relationships we tend and nurture, to take the next right step in sustainable lives. To whom do you turn for wisdom? Is it time to schedule a lunch to talk through how you're navigating your projects, your work, the balance of your life first quarter?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

100 Lives in 2023

Legacy -- what I leave behind. Executive Function -- I just looked that up and have a lot more to learn about it. The concept struck me as core to this next chapter of my life that brings together all I've learned so far. Building ability to learn, resilience in the face of terror and disaster, being bendable and shaping while maintaining a spine, having a North Star -- a clear direction, a system of support, and an operating system. Getting regular feedback to dim the echo chamber effect. Regular cadence of reflection time. This is what's required in 2023 and beyond. Cal Newport is correct -- companies have put the full responsibility on each worker to determine how to orchestrate their lives. At the same time, we can work 24 hours--technology allows us to use the same device to wake up and learn what's happening halfway around the globe. Athletes have coaches who share best practices on what to do holistically step by step to optimize their performance on the court or f

I make mistakes (and I bounce back)

I hate making mistakes.  I love my luxurious fantasy of perfection.  And today my humanity, my imperfection shone through fiery.  I hung in there and cleaned it up. I've learned, you just tell people you screwed up.  Say how you're going to fix it immediately, and how you're protecting it from happening going forward.  It matters little whether anybody else had anything to do with it.  Throw no one under the bus, however, you may want to bring them in on the effect the error had and get their buy in for the proactive solution for future transactions. Truth is, things move so fast that especially with transactional work, there are bound to be errors now and then.  The time it takes to be perfect would result in paralysis.  It's that magical balance between getting it done (and maybe having to beg forgiveness) and taking so long to deliver that by the time you do deliver, it's too late to be of any use (especially since you've now teed off your colleague by be

Post Operation

The physical therapist sub said that I'm tracking ahead for someone 4 days post total right hip replacement. I want to be pleased with myself. When they ask what my goals are post-op, I want to say to run a marathon and to do a triathlon again, and to race up the stairs at work as if I'm Superman, and ace all my goals harder and faster, to show I'm not aging at all. I'm perpetually at my male peak performance. During a triathlon, if I notice I'm tracking ahead of goals I know to slow down. Especially in a race. Especially in the beginning. And life, funny as it may seem, is not a race at all. But even in racing everyone knows that for feats of human resilience, it's the starting slow that gets the body properly attuned to the day, the moment, the heat or cold, the tempo that's right on purr for the longer game. Sprints are different, but they are short. Life, as I want to live it, is a long game. To deeply enjoy it, I need to pace. There's a hubris