Mt Best vs Mt Fatigue
There are two beautiful mountains out near Foster, Vic: Mt Best and Mt Fatigue. I find it interesting that they are right next to each other. It makes me think about how we can be busy and getting the best from life or busy and life is getting drained from us! Work and effort are required in any activity we do but when we choose the right kind of activity and the right amount of activity for the season of life we’re in, we will be enhancing our energy rather then losing it. Drive is a good thing. Work is good. But when it becomes overbalanced or focused on the wrong kind of activities then we can be climbing Mt Fatigue and the effort we’re putting in won’t bring the result we’re looking for!
Right kind of activity What are the right kind of activities? The better question here is: “What do you want to enjoy in life?” Because whatever you put your time into, that’s the fruit you’re going to be eating. So if you’re wanting to build a business, get better at a hobby, or build deeper relationships with people then you’re activities are going to be directed towards those goals.
The other question to ask is are the activities you’re doing bringing increased joy into your life? Sometimes we think we want something, head down that road and then realise that it’s actually not what we thought and we need to switch tracks.
So what is the right kind of activity for you to be doing to get to your end goal and increase your quality of life?
Right amount of activity The right amount of activity is the level that you can sustain before it begins to take mental, physical or emotional resources that you don’t have or can't replenish, ie you're constantly demanding effort and not balancing up fuel to charge the effort. You might be doing the right thing but doing too much of it. You might need to have a little break to restore those creative cells and then keep going. If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing why are you doing it? We can be in seasons of busyness but if we’re busy all the time and never have time to rest then the quality of what we are doing will be compromised…far better to rest, replenish and then keep going!
Knowing your season of life can help determine how much effort you can afford to put into different activities. What are the other demands on your time? How many activities are you involved in? Are you simply spread too thin so that you can’t make headway on any one thing? Are you doing it all at once rather then staggering different goals so you can devote the proper attention to them? Are you single, married, kids? That all impacts how much time you have, before you’re taking it away from relationships in your world.
Joy and quality of life You know that you are doing either the wrong kind of activity or too much of it when you are no longer enjoying yourself. Another great measure is to simply look at those relationships closest to you…are they growing or suffering from what you are doing? Because regardless of the joy of work and achieving goals if we don’t have close family and strong friendships to celebrate life with…what’s the point?? There have been a few times in my life where I've gotten caught up in doing activities that end up taking away from the quality of my life and impacting negatively on relationships around me. No cause or goal is worth that! And if you are in an organisation where the culture is to give more then you can sustain then it's time to get out :) Changing cultural dysfunctions is very hard!! Better something done slowly, at a pace you can maintain for the long term. It's harder to repair broken relationships!! Trust me on that one :)
Thinking time
Soooo...Are you enjoying your life? Are you enjoying what you’re doing? Is what you’re doing making you a better person, filling you with joy and overflowing to the people around you? If not, change something :)
Head to Mt Best where you can pursue your dreams, increase your rest and enjoy the relationships around you!!