We work hard and usually have very little space that isn’t filled throughout the day. All this talk of hustling and working our faces off can leave us highly confused and lure us into the myth that the key to our dream is to work even harder.
I fell into this trap of 70 hour work weeks. My dream wasn’t getting any traction so my natural response was to work even harder and as a result some weeks crept up to 90 hours. I was pushing and straining, yet going nowhere fast. I was feeling like a failure. Balancing life was not happening.
I was either putting my businesses on hold, parenting, husband, church, or my health.
No matter what I did, guilt was my feeling that never left.
When we push this hard we can’t live a life of meaning and purpose. We are missing the very beauty of life and the very things that will catapult us to the next level.
Margin
When we remove margin it has consequences. Putting margin back into our lives gives space to make the best decisions. I have cost myself more money than I will ever recoup by living a rushed life. If you are rushing around, you are costing more money than you probably even realize.
Space allows for the next two things which is where life and momentum are found.
Presence
When we rush through life, we lose what will mean the most to our families.
We lose what will catapult relationships, business, health, and our spiritual lives.
We lose our complete presence. Life that is rushed is never fully alive and is focused on what’s next. If you are trying to fit every last second with something you have, one part of your mind will always be thinking about what’s next.
A loss of presence is loss of life and true connection.
Smarter
If you return margin and presence to your life, you have the ability to work smarter instead of just harder. When I backed up and looked at my life I started thinking about what I was trying to accomplish. I built activity around my goals, not goals around all my activity. Often we get caught in the work harder cycle and spend time doing tasks that can be delegated or left undone.
We end up not having time to do the things that can’t be done by someone else. Before you start any task, ask yourself if this can be delegated or dropped. It is easy to chase pennies and leave dollars. My shift in working smarter doubled my profit, gave me time to be with my family, and gave me space to train and run marathons.
Margin and rest will give you time to work smarter.
Working hard is required, but is useless if it does not have presence and intelligence. Create some silence in your life. Music without silence between notes is just a bunch of noise. It is the silence that creates the beauty. The same is true for your life. To create a beautiful symphony in your life you must have rest between activities.
Moments of working your face off must also have moments of rest and ease.
Do you have margin in your life?
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Photo: Getty Images
This essay originally appeared on Zechariah Newman’s blog.
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