There’s such a push to do more. Don’t you think? It seems like we’re always being advised, persuaded, pushed, to do something more, something further.
The advice is: add this other thing on top of all the things you already do. The subtext seems to be: you won’t be happy unless you add this (whatever it is).
Maybe it’s the result of one hundred years of a culture of selling — products, ideas, yourself, you name it.
Maybe it comes from religious traditions inculcating shame and a sense of being irredeemably flawed.
Whatever it has resulted from, it’s here. It’s in us. It’s all around.
Perhaps consider, whether you might not be better served letting yourself do a little less?
Or don’t. But what if we mulled that over more, say even half as often, as we think and feel and resolve that we need to do still more? I wonder…
Besides writing, SeekerFive creates visual art and designs under his Leaf Town brand for tech accessories and decor. His current emphases are unique cases for your iPhone or Android phone.
Some can be seen on Instagram @leaftowndesigns (https://www.instagram.com/leaftowndesigns).
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love it ❤️ good post seeker
Thanks, Al.
Nice post 👍✨
Thank you, Fidèle.
😄😊
Nice post. Got me thinking.
Thanks, sangita_pr. Glad to hear it 🙂
Food for thought indeed! Sometimes we also might be able to do more where it counts, if we do less where it doesn’t.
Agreed.
Self knowledge is critical here. The inherent lazy ones need to set goals in order to finish something, while the hyperactive ones need to slow down before they burn out.
Maybe less ‘do’ and more ‘be’…
Good question. I never really noticed that. Now, I’ll keep this in mind
I kind of feel like this whenever I read something that is supposed to be self-improvement / self-empowering. There is always a habit, a well-intentioned good habit, that I’m not doing that I should be, and I just feel the crushing weight of one more thing I should be doing. It’s exhausting to keep being made to feel inadequate. The answer could just be to stop feeling inadequate.
I’ve noticed that too, in the same type of genre. Then when I read deeper stuff I sometimes notice the more subtle message that pushing and being pushed for more, more, more, is a trap, and really at odds with improvement/empowerment, as you suggest.
I could not agree more! 🕊
I think you’re absolutely right. We have such a ‘do it yesterday’ mentality and I don’t think it is healthy. No wonder mindfulness is a craze at the moment; we clearly need to slow down and expect less of ourselves.
Totally agree about the ‘do it yesterday’ mentality.
The request – or requirement – that we do more is rarely for our own benefit. It is usually for the requester’s.
I also encounter it often in places / from people who genuinely intend it for my benefit though, like how @Jewish Young Professional “JYP” says in their comment.
Hell yeah! I’m a fan!
Thanks Troy 🙂
In the U.S. there is that mindset, especially with older people. Please no one take offense. I’m 44, and I don’t consider myself old yet, but my mom and in-laws are in their mid 70’s and 80. So that age group values work ethic and all the, “you know in my day we worked this…and customer service that…” However A LOT has changed since 1949. And the 50s when they grew up. Our nation’s puritanical roots highly prized work. So I think it goes back that far. The proverbs in the Bible talk about lazy people. And my mother-in-law takes what she’s read and how she was raised and continues to work even if she’s on death’s door. Not literally, but you get the idea. She thinks people these days are lazy, but I don’t think so. There might be some lazy people, but there are also a lot of hard working people that are killing themselves by working and not taking a break. Or a vacation. We need to rest. The Bible also mentions the lord leading us beside still waters to get refreshed.
The Tao does nothing and yet leaves nothing undone. Thank you SeekerFive.
Oh, I’m the queen of doing too much and pushing myself. As I’ve got older, I have tried to let things go and really think about what is making me and my family happy. I’m a child/teen of the 70s & 80s. We seem to be rather prone to working until we drop. Thank you for the reminder to “do a little less”.
Fabulous.
Love this! 👏🏻
When I remove things from my life, rather than add them, I have started to feel a greater sense of fulfilment that is more than the doing of things. It is quite a revelation.
Thank you for sharing this, I really appreciate the questions you pose and encourage deep thought about.