There’s work: #9to5. May pay well, but, eh, pays enough to make life decent. There’s a side hustle: creativity for cash, #SoulSoothing. There’s wanderlust: #TravelJunkie. There are countless restaurants to try and countless recipes to cook: #LitAF. Not to mention celebrating the festive season: #OOTD challenge, anyone? There’s also the paradox of knowing that living life to the fullest is #wonderful, but also #exhausting!
Good problem, right?
wrong The most common mistake people make when planning an abundance-filled life is not factoring in how much bandwidth abundance—the good stuff—takes. Life must be lived to the fullest, after all. And too much of anything is too heavy. Good problems are still problems.
And so begins the downward spiral. There is guilt in the many opportunities that open up, sorry for all those who are left out. There is fear that the winning streak will not last. Worried that it’s all some terrible mistake – that these blessings are really for someone else, not you, hypocrite.
The elderly did not have this problem. Most Indians above the age of 35 will remember struggling to land and hold on to a single job. The win was tough. There were few paths to success, wealth. No plan Bs to pivot. No one live streamed for others to like, comment, share.
These older people – at work, at home – find it difficult to understand that abundance can also be a burden. That very choice can be paralyzing. Is there a cheat sheet to living well and accepting how overwhelming it can be? As a life coach, here’s advice I often find resonates with young people.
Define “adequate”. At a buffet meal, do you put everything on your plate at once or do you serve yourself a regular plateful, and return it for one or more servings? The second option may seem more sensible, but both options lead to overeating and indigestion. So be aware of each service and number of servers while planning your life. For some, this may mean not charting out every hour of the day, for others it may mean taking on fewer clients for sustainable growth rather than initial but fleeting success. you do
give energy Treat each day as a marathon, not a sprint. This means you have to pace yourself, be ready to go the distance, know where you are going. You shouldn’t run into milestones you should walk and vice versa.
Curate your journey. Complaining, whining, worrying “What happened?” And criticizing someone else’s goals is a terrible use of your time and skills. Choose what you want to put your energy into, and eventually the fear of missing out will disappear. Think of that imaginary buffet. The goal is not to game the system, but to eat well. So if you’ve eaten your fill of the foods you wanted to eat, are you really missing out on the dishes you forgot to eat? Apply the idea to your goal. Your own victory looks sweet.
Be realistic. Don’t chase forever, permanence or perfection. Instead, accept that sometimes 50% is good enough and other times, 80% is actually great. Instead of winning at every task, focus on falling behind. And be consistent. Doing something regularly does not mean doing it every day. Choose how often you want to focus on a particular goal. And remember that this is natural, human and completely okay. What matters is that you bounce back quickly every time.
Be willing. If your goals seem like a drag, it’s probably because they’re not your dreams but someone else’s. Choose your path and be ready to face challenges, work through obstacles, put in the necessary effort and live your desires to the fullest. I put it at the end so it’s the first thing you remember. Life is abundant. Life is fleeting. Life is what you make it. So what do you choose? Feeling overwhelmed or willing to thrive?
From HT Brunch, April 8, 2023
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