The longer you’re in a state of inaction, the more difficult it is to get out of it.
Recenly, I’ve learned some lessons that can unfortunately only be learned with time. Over the last few months, I spent way too much sprawled out on my couch consuming too much Netflix. I should’ve been exercising, reading books, or writing more on this blog. I started noticing things in myself by the end of the summer both physically and mentally that gave me concern and an impetus to act.
Sitting or laying around for too long caused literal physical aches and soreness. Not only was I not hitting the gym or running outside to keep myself in good shape, my inactivity was discouraging me from even doing minimal stuff some days – and weeks. A similar challenge was affecting me mentally. Ideas that were trying to make their way out onto paper or blog were held back; books that were begging to be read were left on digital and physical bookshelves. Personal growth has been stunted by the amazing power of non-movement. You don’t realize what it can do you to emotionally until you’re snapped out of it and recognize that you’ve been missing out. Inertia is something that should never be underestimated.
It’s not uncommon for multiple threads of my life to come together in ways to teach me a bigger lesson. An agreement to meet weekly with a friend at the gym has sparked the fitness regime again, even to run outdoors more even as winter comes. I’m back here writing on the blog again after a bit of a hiatus. Reading actual books is slowly making its way back into the routine to sharpen the mind and spark ideas.
However, work has been one of the most drastic shake-ups and in ways I would not have imagined just 2 months ago. There was a lack of excitement and forward thinking that was missing from the day to day life around the office that made work uninspiring. Its effect on the culture and people was impossible to ignore or dismiss. Suffice to say, there were some changes made and announced. With that came a new vigor and energy which has found its way into everything we’re doing and is changing who we are as a company. When we look back in 6 months on where we will have come from, I expect celebration in the progress and growth we’ll have made.
The mental and psychological pains of not making progress in any fashion can be easy to ignore and masked with stuff that distracts our minds from what we really need to deal with. Life gets pretty dull without activities that stretch who we are. Part of why I wrote this particular post is to publicly call myself out on my own inaction and to be more intentional and focused in what I want and need to do. While laying on the couch is super comfortable for a time, I can’t stay there forever. Neither should anyone else.