"I Need to Accomplish Something"Written by Angie Dixon
Do you have trouble taking a day off? Boy, I do. When I take a day off I lie around all day, read novels, eat whatever I want, take a nap, and generally do whatever I want. It’s awful. I get depressed, I don’t feel well, I don’t accomplish anything.Did you catch that last phrase? “I don’t accomplish anything.” Well, of course not, it’s a DAY OFF. But do you ever feel that way? That you should be accomplishing something even when you’ve told yourself and others that you’re taking a day off? Do you work on weekends? Evenings? Do you eat at your desk? I do all those things, sometimes. And what it means for me when I’m doing those things is that I’m “out of balance.” Now, balance for me may not look like what it looks like for you. That’s another article entirely, one I haven’t had time to write yet. But what balance looks like for me is basically that I can lie down and read a book or sit on couch with my husband and watch a movie without feeling like I “should be accomplishing something.” It’s that simple. For me, anyway. I don’t always have to be accomplishing something. I have to remind myself that it’s okay to be at loose ends, it’s okay to enjoy a novel rather than studying or reading a heavy non-fiction tome. It’s even okay to play a computer game.
| | Your Growing EdgeWritten by Angie Dixon
You’ve probably heard term “leading edge” used to refer to technology or products that are in front of curve, that are really advanced. You may have even heard term “bleeding edge” in this context. I want to talk to you about your personal “leading edge,” your growing edge.Your growing edge is that area of your life where there’s still a lot of room for improvement but you’re pushing ahead and stretching margins of that area every day. For some this is productivity in business, for others it’s personal balance, for still others it’s family time and quality of interaction. How do you find your growing edge and what do you do about it once you’ve identified it? First, finding your growing edge. This can be easier than you might expect. It’s a simple matter of looking at your life over last few months or year and seeing what challenges you keep bumping up against. For me, it’s eating right. I don’t eat breakfast or lunch and I eat too much junk. Over last year I’ve struggled with this repeatedly, each time managing to eat “well” for a little longer, but then falling back into my old habits. The point is that I am growing in this area. You may have an area like this, too. You’re challenged by it, you make some changes, you retreat from these changes, and you make changes again.
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