01 Nov How to slow down if you’re addicted to being busy
via the Washington Post by Benjamin Shalva
I am an ambition addict.
For ambition addicts like myself, growth is not enough. Accomplishment will not suffice. We addicts need to distinguish ourselves from the herd. We desire domination. We ache for adoration. We want to win. And we will move mountains to make every dizzying dream come true.
All ambition addicts, no matter the activity, venue, or great and glorious goal, have at least one behavior in common—we are running for our lives. We sprint through e-mails and meetings. We speed through bedtime with the kids. We bump carts with an old friend in the produce aisle, and, when they ask how we’re doing, we open our eyes wide, feign a great sigh, and answer, “BUSY!” Then we do everything possible to wrap up the reunion before it begins. We just don’t have time!
This race to the finish line comes at the expense of both physical health and emotional well-being. The perpetual stress of our high-stakes, up-tempo lives, the invariable fight-or-flight, thickens our arteries, frays our nerves, and dramatically increases our risk of a heart attack or stroke. The more savage our drive to succeed, the more willing we also are to undercut or abandon those who dare slow us down. Colleagues become competitors. Family and friends—dead weight. For the sake of success, we deafen our ears and burn our bridges.
To break the cycle of ambition addiction before it breaks us, we must make space in our lives for breath and balance, patience and perspective. We need to learn how to reach for new heights without losing the ground beneath our feet. We ambition addicts need to slow down.
One powerful technique for slowing down, a technique we can practice anywhere, anytime, is called Breath, Word, and Deed…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE