Dale Thomas Vaughn reminds you to replenish your pool during your year end reflections.
As we near the end of the year, it’s common to see colleagues, friends, and even ourselves pushing into that extra gear to close out the year. It’s also common to see those same people having some minor personal breakdowns due to what I call the “Dry Well Syndrome.”
In the modern mode of work/life imbalance, with added hours at work and pressures at home and nothing but the carrot of extended weekends keeping our feet moving forward, it is easy for the most dynamic people among us to start feeling the exhaustion of running on fumes.
Deep within us is a well (metaphorically, of course, don’t go digging around with a shovel – although, metaphorically you can dig around all you want) from which we draw our passion, our energy, and ultimately our ability to create and live a full life. Chances are you are a powerful person with all kinds of access to that creative force in you that makes you a superstar at work and an anchor at home; and you probably know that your well of power must be tended regularly for you to sustain that high level of contribution to the world.
You probably know that your well is infinite… you can draw incredible energy and force from deep within; but you have also felt moments when you gave and gave and gave from that well until one day you went to draw from the well and it was dry. You got sick, or you just couldn’t get out of bed, or you just couldn’t deal… you know the feeling of a dry well.
It’s okay, we all have to find our boundary; but did you learn your lesson? Have you remembered to allow that well to replenish? Have you found ways to build that power back up? Do you need to escape the pavement for a weekend? Do you need to find a hammock and a beer? Do you need to recharge with some guy time or some partner time or some alone time? Most of all, have you made yourself a priority?
Because here’s the hard lesson: From a full well comes incredible creativity; and from a dry well comes incredible destruction. The world is balanced on the See-Saw of creation and destruction… you have seen this truth in your own life if you’ve paid close attention. And destruction is an unwieldy mode that cares not what or who receives its force. So all you’ve built by the incredible power of your creativity – your awesome relationships, your hard-fought successes, your accomplishments and precious stability – all of these become potential targets for your incredible ability to destroy.
I’m not telling you anything you don’t know; but it’s that time of year when we all need a reminder to replenish the well while we’re digging deep to get through the end of the year. So here is your reminder, you can’t say you didn’t know… will you suffer from Dry Well Syndrome, or will you be the person with outstanding dynamic energy? Everyone and everything around you hopes for the latter, it’s your choice.