focus, filter and forget
I am pretty sure I have never been so burnt out. Over the past few years I have shifted careers from being mostly an at home Mom to an angel investor, blogger, etc (that would be big on the etc. part). I left the constant networking for a few years and took a bit of a back seat with yoga, cooking and focusing on taking my time to think about what to do next. Now I find myself in many ways back to a place where I don't sit back and smell the roses.
One of the reasons I never grabbed the opportunity for starting my own business or becoming involved in a start-up again is because I know that I would find myself in a place where I would be consumed 24/7. I didn't want to be like that anymore and I certainly didn't want to be like when my kids were younger.
It hasn't take me long to ramp up again because it is part of my DNA. I love the intellectual stimulation, the problem solving aspect, the thrill of building things and meeting so many people that are creating new economies and the way we live our lives. It is a bit like an addiction, a high.
There is no doubt that I am capable of juggling more balls than humanly possible but in the last week I have started to think again about what is next. Where is the balance. What is balance mean for me? Priority number one is family as it should be for everybody as far as I am concerned. Our financial success has certainly allowed me the ability to just sit back, eat bon bons, go shopping and pamper myself weekly but it isn't who I am. I'd probably lose my mind.
I plan on reflecting over the next two weeks. Certainly losing my Mom this past year has made a major impact on my thoughts about how fragile life is and that loss has slowly seeped into every part of my body although I am quite good at just moving through anything that comes my way. Ricks advice really hit me between the eyes. I am going to focus on everything I am currently involved with now and how I can continue to work with each amazing entrepreneur in a meaningful way, I am going to filter all the white noise and try to balance the life/work thing and make sure I smell all the roses and enjoy everything life has given me and I am going to try to not forget how I ramped everything up to a place where I am burnt out beyond belief.
Some sleep, some skiing and boarding, some sun and fun and lots of downtime…I should be brand new before I know it.
Comments (Archived):
Enjoy the break!
RAMP UPdiscover, engage, createFAMILYbalance, choice, contributionVALUEenjoy, connect, build
INTENTIONgiving, love and wisdom
COLLECThold, sell, let go
NEXTpersonal, commerce, fun
I now feel like I know you quite well (without knowing you) and identify w/you in many ways. It makes me feel good/relieved/ok that I’m spending time at music classes, changing diapers and getting macaroni thrown at me and that there can be a time later to ramp up and get involved.Have a great vacation.
As my friend just wrote me, she’s been working on life balance for 30 years.Think of it this way….julia child didn’t start her food career until muchlater in life. There is always time to shift gears. Enjoy what you aredoing at each moment
I like this quote…. “Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account.” John Gardner.
Have a wonderful trip 😀
After my Dad died I found to be as busy as possible to be the best for me.Rachel, congrats on the baby.
agreed. although at one point it catches up.
This (professionally made) family home video made me happy today…..i imagine it would be a real treasure to have….http://vimeo.com/4270092
Thanks so much, Ellen!
good insight.I’ve been to two funerals this month.
Love “focus, filter and forget.” Love it even more coming from Rick.Sounds like a brilliant Rx.
I use “smile, breath and go slow”Enjoy your FFF break
Have woken up with very similar thoughts – although not as wisely articulated. It is challenging to balance the “I-can-do-more-really-I-can” with the dueling impulse of “this-might-actually-be-some-serious-crazy-making.” Maybe we have a genetic pre-disposition for it; there is some serious global environmental crazy-making happening in the name of “more.” Thanks for the post, particularly appreciative this morning of some wise counsel. Now, I’m going start scaling some 3xF thinking. 😉
Focus, filter, forget. Focus, filter, forget…I like the sound of that.
Me too
What’s better than a little alpine therapy to get you reconnected with your ever-evolving self.F-cubed? Freaking fantastic.
I like that. Ever evolving self. Aren’t we all?
All and always! 🙂
My dad died this August and it has had such a profound impact in a way i never really expected. Make a difference. Love hard. Eat life.and filtering all the white noise is a great place to start.
i like that. love hard, eat life.
So Focus, Filter, Forget sounds like great advice. My question– did it work? I just started reading the blog today and saw you’re back from vacation.I find that sometimes all the logistical snafus that can happen when planning a vacation (flights canceled, constant rain, etc) can hijack the best plans to recharge.
i am actually still on vacation. second half of the trip. so far i ampretty relaxed. am definitely thinking about how i don’t ramp up toinsanity again. that is the most difficult part.
I love— Don’t Ramp Up to Insanity Again. Great advice. I’ll give you credit for it the next 3 times I tell it to someone. After that, I’m owning it. 😉
let’s make t-shirts