#27–Did you mistake exertion for progress?

A client I worked with years ago told me she didn't have couches at home growing up. Not because they were poor but because her parents believed that resting during the day was unnecessary. A waste of time. Indulgent.

Another one told me her mind was never calm enough to watch a movie or a TV show just for pleasure––she only watched informative stuff like documentaries or historical shows. If she wasn't actively learning something whenever she wasn't working (or sleeping), she felt guilty.

The Ghost of Exertion is real.

It makes us believe that being busy and getting tired are virtues.

It makes us feel satisfied at the end of the day, when we see that long list of to-dos all neatly crossed out.

It makes us think that we don't deserve to rest, or to enjoy our time the way we choose to. Or it makes us believe that we choose busyness because "it's who we are!"

It convinces us that without exerting ourselves to the point of exhaustion, we're worthless.

And so, even when all this exertion is taking us nowhere, we keep going.

Because stopping or pivoting would be too scary.

A few weeks ago, I stopped. It was scary.

And you? Are you still engaging in futile busyness just to avoid the fear of not knowing?

Love,

Carolina

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