Thriving or Surviving

We live in a culture of immediacy. Within seconds we can send and receive texts and emails, pull up videos or content on just about anything, and satisfy many of our desires for consumption and connection. But, what if that sense of immediacy is distorting and damaging how we interact with one another and the world around us? A little over 10 years ago, I asked some friends to review a sales page I'd put together for a program I offered, and I included a line on the sales page stating that I would respond to inquiries within a certain time frame. One of the friends told me that I should respond to inquiries immediately and thus should remove the time frame notice. Not long after this, that same friend texted me in the middle of the night. They lived a few time zones behind me so it was late for them, but not as late as it was for me. The text came through after I was in bed and asleep, so I did not respond until the next day while on my train commute to work. This sparked a meltdow...

I spend far too much time on social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram. As of today, I've decided to scale way back on both.  In the past, I've occasionally taken a day off of social media here and there, but haven't taken a break of longer than a full day. I have challenged myself to stay off of my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts through Thanksgiving day in the United States. I am allowing myself to still read direct messages and to take part in a specific Facebook group that I'm in with a tiny group of long-term friends. Beyond that, the only times I plan to use Facebook and Instagram will be to post to business related accounts -- and I plan to batch and schedule those. Today, I took the following steps towards scaling back my social media use and consumption: Decided on a timeframe: through Thanksgiving day Personal account posts: posted that I am taking a social media break Business related accounts: I will batch and schedule posts related to busin...

We all go through natural phases where life feels more or less intense and more or less overwhelming. Currently, I am in a phase of overwhelm, and I have been for a couple of months. And, life for the last six years or so has felt overwhelming more often than not. Don't get me wrong -- there have been periods where life has felt terrific and balanced, but not as often as I would like . . . not often enough for me to feel like I am thriving. This past weekend, I had a friendship come to an end in an extraordinarily emotionally painful manner. I will admit, I made some mistakes and said some things to the other person that I shouldn't have, but it was a mutually destructive situation. I wish the other person a healthy, happy, joy filled life and I will miss them, but the experience prompted me to look inward and to examine how I've been living life, what I have been prioritizing, and what I might want to do differently in the future.  As of today, I've decided to embark o...