Friday, February 10, 2023
To get things done effectively, the key is to ease up, not to clamp down. Easing up is not slacking off or neglect. It’s clearing the mind’s nagging stories and fuss about nothing. All that is required is your best, not obsessing about everything being done “perfectly.” The key is to create enough room in yourself to be at ease. Being at ease is what easing up is about. Be careful that your “burden” isn’t a bunch of blown-up, nagging stories in your head. We often don’t see this “strain” in life.
What people expect from you is nowhere near what you over-expect from yourself. You’re likely not to produce anything revolutionary so chill. Work on your inner ease, and your daily work will improve almost on its own. Love and joy have an easier yoke than strain, stress, and force. Love and joy easily breeze through the day, and they allow you to smile while you’re at it.
We strain and grunt for no reason. We squint and squeeze the muscles around the eyes to try to see better. To see better, you have to be relaxed. We strain to hear by tensing up the muscles around the ear, when actually we just need to be still. All of that strain and grunting is useless. But the biggest waste of energy is making a big deal out of things that in actuality are fairly simple. Email, meetings, and errands are simple. Straining is draining. Save the straining for the gym. Ease up, step back, and loosen your grip. The weight you feel is likely a story in your head. Pull back, and you’ll see that there’s really no straining necessary. Nothing will be left undone – trust yourself and ease up.