I used to be a workaholic

I used to be a workaholic. I’ve been a workaholic for much of my life. Whether it was the coaching business where I attended tons of networking meetings and tried to create content and meet with prospective clients or my writing, which I would do after I got off work, I would push myself hard to always be doing something. I didn’t realize the cost of my workaholic nature until my mid-forties and it has been a steep cost that I’m still paying.

Over the last half year, I’ve been learning a skill I think more of us need to learning. I’ve been learning to rest and relax and not worry so much about how much I get done. I’ve come to realize the immortal truth that slow and steady does win the race, while going fast can ultimately burn you out. With this realization I’ve changed the pace of my writing, focusing less on trying to get a book out within a specific period of time, and focusing more on taking care of myself, so when I write, my writing is productive, and I’ve actually found that I’m productive this way than when I was trying to work myself so hard.

Now my day is full of restful activities that help me disconnect from my day job and my writing, and allow me to cultivate my creativity as a result. I start my day by practicing Gods Playing in the Clouds Qigong. I do anywhere between 3 to 5 sets of each of the moves and I do it to take care of my body and start my day with a clear mind. By doing this activity it helps me wake my body and mind up and get ready for the day.

After I do Gods Playing in the Clouds, I read a passage from The Daily Stoic. I contemplate the passage of the day and ask myself how I can apply it to my life in a meaningful way that proves helpful to me and how I show up in my day.

After I finish working at the day job, I do some more qigong to loosen up the body and mind and then I meditate. The meditation is a way for me to separate out the earlier experiences of the day and open myself to my creative process. I know that if I try to create after an exhausting day at work, I won’t be able to do much of anything. I know I need to honor myself, honor the spirits I work with and renew myself by making sacred space to clear out the day and open myself to creative expression of the night.

Now when I write, my writing brings me joy because I’m not trying to do it as a thing that has to be done. Instead I’m writing to create and share and connect. I’m writing because I have something to share, but the writing is no longer work I’m doing, but a restful activity that is renewing me. I treat my writing like this because I see my writing as an activity of empowerment that allows me the possibility of taking back my life so I can spend my time doing what is really meaningful for me.

Sometimes though I swap writing out for creating art. I will paint a water color painting and let that be my creative expression for the night. The painting it usually just for me. I might share it with other people, but it’s really a way for me to achieve joy and purpose, stillness and grace in the work I am called to do. Whether I’m painting or writing I open myself to the creative flow and let it express itself and the relationships I have with the world, people, spirits and whatever else is meaningful to me. And this work carries me, sustains me and helps me weather the stresses of life.

I end my day with reading another passage from another book. It might be a book of philosophy or spirituality or architecture or something else altogether. Whatever it is, I read that passage and reflect on it as I start to fall asleep. I let it permeate my consciousness and seed my subconsciousness so that in my dreams I renew myself and inspire my waking life.