Capitalism has done a lot of weird things to human beings.
One of the weirdest is telling us we should equate our self-worth with productivity.
If I’m super productive, I’m super worthy. If I’m not, I’m … not.
Yeah. That’s a bigfat lie. And yet… The whole productivity piece is still tricky for me.
I love getting things done. Especially things related to OhMyGod Life. Melissa and I can be doing something relatively bland, like sitting in our office answering emails, and it feels so good.
I’m fortunate to have a vocation I love. So that’s a plus. But I’m also a self-employed entrepreneur, and that puts me in the category of folks who need to be careful with overwork and overwhelm.
If you love to do something, more is always better. Right?
Sure.
The more OhMyGod Life grows, the more Melissa and I have had to learn to step away. To set boundaries. To rest.
In order to do so, I’ve had to remember a trick someone taught me when I was employed as a social worker a few decades ago.
Similar to my current gig at OhMyGod Life, being a social worker meant there was always more to do. Every day, I had to step away from a To Do list that was never gonna get Done.
And here’s the trick:
When things start to pile up, and you start to feel anxious about how much work you have to do, there’s a false notion that creeps in. It says:
All you have to do is work a little harder. If you just push and do a liiiittle more, you’ll knock off enough from the To Do list that you won’t feel overwhelmed.
Not true! It’s another bigfat lie!!!!
When I hear that voice now – and I still hear it – I know that I need to do exactly the opposite of what it says.
I need to rest. Take a break. Step away from work altogether so I can remember that I am more than a worker bee. More than what I can produce.
A super groovy thing about taking a break is that, paradoxically enough, it often helps me be more productive when I return to work.
When I step back and gain a little perspective, I often have inspired ideas. These ideas fall into two categories:
1. Solutions to problems that had me stuck. Sometimes this stuckness is what’s causing my overwhelm and invoking the liar that says I just need to work harder to fix the problem. Taking a break allows the solutions to come.
2. Revelations about completely overhauling how I’ve been doing something and approaching it in a totally different way. Sometimes it means abandoning a course of action altogether. If I hadn’t stepped away, I never would have been able to see this.
Capitalism and spiritual practice are ultimately at odds.
Capitalism posits that we are what we can produce. Spiritual practice posits that we are Divine.
So when I step away from work, I’m strengthening the spiritual view.
And there’s no better use of time than that.
What is your relationship with work and not-work? Share your comments below!
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