Q2: Fall Back, Level Up
Business is like a football game. There are four quarters and four downs where a team must net a 10 yard gain to retain possession of the ball. In business, there are fiscal goals divided into quarters; and like a football game, the goal is to score, regardless of winning or losing, the objective is to move the ball down the field in order to score. In between the four quarters is half time and it comes at the end of the second quarter— a break.
Here we are at the beginning of Q2. The second quarter has begun.
Life is to seasons as seasons are to quarters. There are times when our ideas/goals lie dormant (winter), when we begin to see progress (spring), when we bloom (summer), and when we fall (autumn). The ups, downs and standstills. We often think the ups and downs teach us the lessons. On the contrary. It’s in the standstill where the value lies, both in our personal and professional lives.
Hopefully, you’ve adjusted, extended, and prioritized your goals to get you closer to “scoring;” however, there comes a time when you have to fall back in order to level up. Take a step back and reflect on where you are versus where you’ve been, in order to grasp where you’re going. Current situation personally speaking!
At the top of 2019 we set our intentions and resolutions, and by the end of the 1st quarter of the year our thinking about our wants and desires may have shifted. What we regard as having greater value versus what no longer serves us.
Humans are temperamental.
“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Said French mathematician, physicist, inventor, and writer, Blaise Pascal. Learn to listen to the quiet. There is where you’ll find the answers.
In the standstill, the universal energies are asking us to fall back. Give ourselves time to think. All the business greats schedule “nothing time.” Warren Buffet schedules time to sit and think. Richard Branson recommends scheduling time to dream. Giving our minds a break is cognitively beneficial in propelling our aspirations.
Often times when we reach a new level in our growth, shit hits the fan and you’ll question your decisions, your goals, your plans. And in the panic instead of surrendering to the process, we attempt to fix the problem ( guilty!). In fixing the problem we create more problems, rather than taking a step back from the issue, breathe, and do nothing. There’s this false belief that the busier we are the more productive we are, but a busy mind is a confused mind and a relaxed mind offers clarity, focus.
Stillness is an action. To act upon something is to do something, and in allowing ourselves to shift from being busy to being still, we’re taking action. We’re taking our minds on a much needed retreat, to recharge, refuel and reignite creativity, passions etc. Fall back from reevaluating your goals at this time, and focus on the progression. If you feel you’re not at your target mark, think about where you were six months ago, a year ago. I bet you’ve come further than you expected. It’s why it’s important to take time for quiet reflection so we don’t get caught up in thinking we should be further along in our progress. Even in weight loss journeys we plateau. Just means we’ve reached our target and it’s time to take it up a notch, to do something different.
Create your half time experience at the end of the 2nd quarter. Schedule an hour at the beginning of the day and the end of the day to do nothing. Read a good book, or if you’re like me, browse the bookstore (I lose track of time in a bookstore, and money!). Be one with nature. Hell, if you feel like being lazy and chilling on the weekend instead of filling your time with errands that could probably be put off for another day, do more of that. Just don’t think about what you should be doing. In doing absolutely nothing, you’re actually doing more for yourself mentally, spiritually, cognitively.
Manage your mind, manage your time.
Be mindful…the world needs more of that!
-Gillian
