Photo Credit: Paulo Benandi
I heard this on a podcast this morning, and it hit home hard.
When we are in that hurried sense of mind, that sense of urgency, that “gotta get it done now, or else” we don’t do well. The things that make sense for us to do are either ineffective or effective in the short term, but they come with a long-term cost.
What is that feeling of urgency?
Urgency is fear. This vague unspecified threat of something. Behind it is the thought that “if I don’t get this done now, something terrible will happen”.
For almost all of us, it’s just a habit of trying to scare ourselves with some unspecified future consequences to get ourselves to move forward. Problem is, even when it’s effective in the short term, the long-term cost is, we’re continually living life under the gun, with a background feeling of dread, and we get exhausted, and burn ourselves out of the place where mindful, intentional, creative, innovative, collaborative action can have a systemic and transformative long term impact on the task at hand. Or at least does no harm!
Simple, but not easy.
Just four hours later I caught the feeling of urgency while frantically rushing to add all my new connections on Linked In from this morning’s accelerator – before my pc crashed under the weight of all my open tabs – and I ‘lost’ all the connections. I caught it and laughed at myself. They’re not even my connections to lose, it’s just the start of these beautiful relationships, and if my pc crashes, we’ll connect in slower time. Feeling lighter, I got the job done and moved on. To a coaching session with a client battling burn out at the need to take urgent action on everything at once. Serendipity?
What was the fear last time you felt a hurried urgency in what you were doing?
Next time, catch it, take your thoughts a little less seriously, and take a lighter approach to the task in hand.
Mehalah Beckett is a consultant, coach and trusted advisor passionate about people, the planet and empowering others to inspire positive change. She coaches purpose-driven leaders to impossible goals, hosts Masterminds for hungry entrepreneurs and guides businesses through B-Corp. What can I help you achieve over the next year?