As my career (and personal) success has grown over the last handful of years, as I have completed major projects (see: How to Fly),  as I have seized unfathomable opportunity (see: WSN and Highlight), I have had the common experience of more and more people and priorities competing for my time and energy.

I have also had the experience of feeling overloaded and overwhelmed by the sheer amount.

This is actually a sign of growth and success, so if this is you, it’s good, stay with me.

This then brings us to the inevitable fork in the road, where we need to really look at what and who we are giving our time and energy to.

It begs the question, is this most aligned with how I want to spend my day/life/career and the direction I want to take it?

Make time to confirm these incredibly important answers.

Your answer 5 years ago, may be entirely different now. Your answer 6 months ago may be entirely different now.

Make time to reflect and confirm what you really want to say yes to, and what you also must say no to in order to fulfill on what’s really for you.

When I get bogged down in the doing, my creative energy and desire to connect with others falls dramatically. It’s notable. This is what I want to solve.

These two things are key pillars in both my work and my personal fulfillment, so when I notice this, I know that I’ve tipped out of balance and it’s time for me to get some of this back to bring me back into my most functional, fulfilling and sustainable balance.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but when I get bogged down in the doing, it is that much more critical for me to make time for unstructured time in my schedule.

This time frees me in so many ways:

◊ It frees me from the stress of exacting productivity.

◊ It frees my creative energy such that new ideas and inspirations start to flow again.

◊ It frees me to follow those inspirations to win-win connections and opportunities.

◊ It frees me to decide to do the work that was overwhelming me if I want to do that too.

◊ It gives me space to honor my humanity, which ironically is the most important factor in elevated performance in my experience.

We can only get so far or so high pressuring ourselves. And we can only get so far or so high without challenging ourselves into that discomfort of edge-pushing performance.

We need both to truly perform at our peak, and do it sustainably.

Push yourself, yes. And allow space. Do both.

Hit me up if you ever want help.

#goteam