Nobody said it would be easy
The last few weeks have been extremely difficult. A ton of stress and worries that I try my best to negate through meditation, speaking with my wife, and reminding myself of the NQD life. It doesn’t always work. I often find myself twisted up in knots and taking thoughts to the potential negative consequences. Such as “if I don’t get this project done perfectly I may end up losing my job and not being able to pay my mortgage let alone my kid’s college tuition and possibly end up homeless”. While this may seem really self defeating it’s a thought pattern that happens frequently for many. I’ve worked for many years to try to turn those thoughts around and change to a more driven mindset that will not only push those thoughts away but assist me in clearing the issues.
I need to find more time for me more often. That doesn’t necessarily mean taking a week off in the mountains searching my soul. Although that does sound nice. I have a motorcycle that I love to ride and it allows me to think mostly about what I’m doing and the beauty of where I’m riding. Until today I hadn’t ridden it since last Summer prior to a major business change. I’ve had that vehicle for pleasure and focus in my garage but couldn’t find the time or give myself the time to go out and enjoy a ride in the country. Today was another beautiful day packed with events that could have prevented me from doing it once more. I forced a ride into my day and what a beautiful couple hours it was. It didn’t take much time and yes things didn’t get done except for my being much more centered and prepared to take on the next challenges.
Am I in a state of bliss where I don’t have a care in the World? Not even close. I still have the same amount of work ahead of me that I’ll try not to take my stress levels too high knocking them out. But I have a good memory of a couple hours where I heard the purr of my motorcycle under me and the beautiful countryside fly by. I’m better off for having done it. If you’re reading this I recommend either finding something to do that you’re passionate about or forcing yourself to take some time to do what you love. Even if it’s just a couple hours it’s still going to make you feel better about that next task.