It's not easy at the top--nor on the way there. There's an endless number of requests for your time, your energy, your results. And before you know it, a month, quarter, and sometimes even a whole year has gone by.
Hearing people tell you to be deliberate is nothing new--the bookshelves (real or digital) are lined with guru's who will have you wake up at all hours of the day, make lists until you run out of paper, and read books on tape or listen to podcasts in every unscheduled minute of the day.
And here's the thing--they're not wrong. Running hot and burning lots of energy works for awhile--when you're in a new job, when you start a new project, when you're going for the big raise, when you have a huge deadline. You get there, you manage, you can even find more strength, energy, and stamina than you thought possible.
The issue is that it's not sustainable. And that's not just an old dude telling you that--it's not sustainable not only because you can't keep up the energy, it's not sustainable because not matter how young or old you are, when you go full throttle for a long time you start to get tunnel vision on achieving the goal you're after--and you tend to neglect rest, reflection, nature, family, friends, beer--you name it.
It often takes someone (or something) to shake you out of this--or it may be your body that just gives out on you. So before you get to that point, MAKE it a point of finding time to unplug (or plug in). Try a new Spotify channel, go to a comedy club, call an old friend, make a new one, mow the lawn--anything that switches your mental point of view and changes up your brainwaves.
Do this and I guarantee you'll find that you come back to your task with a new point of view, a new mindset, and some perspective, and that's going to make you a better marketer, let along a better friend, mom or dad, spouse or partner, or colleague.
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