Pushing rope
There is a curse high-achievers are well acquainted with: when we’re stalled on a project, we dig in our heels and respond by…grinding even harder.
Butt-in-seat and GET.IT.DONE!
(Kind of like some of those back-to-the-office policies flying around recently…)
You’d think after years of my own high-achiever-ism, and more years of helping others see through and beyond theirs, I would be well aware of this default and an expert at sidestepping it.
Which is also where that old saying comes into play: the blind leading the blind.
Just this week, I was slogging through my writing. Sitting in my chair, pecking at my keyboard occasionally, going nowhere fast. And what did I do?
I sat there more. Stared at the page longer. Furrowed my brow, shifted in my chair, sighed deeply.
How many times have I talked clients through these restless moments? Challenged them to take a breath, get out of their chair, go outside for a walk? Countless.
And finally, hours before my deadline, rolling my eyes, I sighed big, put in my earphones, and headed out for a walk. And about 10 minutes into it, everything cracked open.
We’re all running this same course. None of us are immune. No one gets a pass. And there is no winning. There is just getting back on course every time we wander off.
See you back on the course, friends…
