Weekly Wayfinder – May 28, 2018
If our bodies are human operating systems, like Arianna Huffington says, then mine has needed some downtime lately. That’s not to say things haven’t been hectic, of course. Life always seems to have a certain frenzied pace to it (too many emails, too many errands, etc). But lately I’ve been trying to prioritize which frenzy to pay attention to, and what to let go of.
In fact, a lot of the chaotic noise I’ve been trying silence has been not outside in the world around me, but actually inside my own head. Questions I’ve been pondering are ones I know every wayfinder will find familiar: What am I doing? Where am I going? And how will I know when I’ve arrived? As I wrote last time, rather than trying to answer these questions, I decided to stop fretting and instead just get going.
And what do you know – within days of putting down that hefty anchor, I realized the chatter in my head had calmed. When I first listened to Arianna Huffington speak about downtime, I assumed she had meant Rest and Relaxation (ideally sunbathing out by a pool)...Perhaps, though, the downtime I needed was actually less for my body, and more for my mind.
As we move forward into summer, I’m even more curious about downtime as a necessary feature for any high-performing operating system. How are you planning to create space for your own downtime? Just like closing our browser tabs and shutting down our laptops – how might you design moments of calm, quiet downtime in your hectic summer schedule?
Other links to explore and get inspired by this week:
- WHAT WE’RE READING: Why self-compassion beats self-esteem every time.
- WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO: Negotiating for Yourself.
- WHAT WE’RE PLAYING WITH: Redefining distraction.
- WHAT WE’RE CURIOUS ABOUT: Resting in open stillness.
- WHAT WE’RE LEARNING: Even grownups can find moments to play.
- THIS WEEK’S MANTRA: “Downtime is a feature, not a bug.”
Shutting down in 3...2...1...
