I think one of the biggest battles that we face as Americans is the battle of not feeling like we are doing enough.
What I mean by that, is I have moments after I have been working, where I get stricken with this feeling that I am wasting time. That there is more to do and I am not doing it. I am not working enough, not striving enough and I am going to fall behind.
Do you ever feel this way? You feel guilty if you take a pause in your workday and even after a productive day you still feel like it is not enough.
You are not alone, I experience it and I know many others do also. The best solution that I have found for this mental sickness, is to stop, reflect and write. It really helps me to write out my thoughts, because if I keep them in my brain then I would probably go crazy.
While I would like to think that in many ways I am different from the average Joe, I am acutely aware of how human I really am. I have very human desires toward laziness, that I have to fiend off with to do lists and goal setting. I can also become unmotivated or undisciplined, which I combat with groups, support systems. I exercise my own self discipline through daily habits of putting things away, eating certain foods, and maintaining a certain level of activity.
We are all human, and our natural inclinations toward pleasure and laziness we all feel and desire.
How do stop falling into the pleasure trap?
1) Learn more about spirituality and philosophy (learn life lessons from our spiritual teachers decide what works for you)
2) Turn off the TV and start reading and learning new things
3) Reflect on your daily actions and what drives you to do the things you do
4) Define your purpose and goals
5) Give yourself spaciousness and time to think, reflect and be mindful
We are driven culture and I believe that in many ways we have been led off course by mainstream values that have taken away our time to think for ourselves and live full lives. We are constantly running around feeling like what we are doing and who we are is not enough. But when we can change our lifestyles to give us more space, then we can reflect on these crazy, non helpful beliefs and choose to live a different way.
I am definitely still a work in progress. What I find is after I write out my thoughts, it helps to allow myself to honor the work I have done, give gratitude to my health and ability to stop, reflect and process. To do a brain dump and hopefully then be able to enjoy being human and surrender into relaxing, rather than worrying that I haven’t done enough.
Here is to winning the battle of not enough, because everything you do is exactly enough for the moment.
To your health,
Sharon