When an immovable object meets an irresistible force.
Feeling overwhelmed and searching for meaning
As Autumn rolls in, the temperature drops but the pressure seems to rise. Where did summer go? How do we only have 3.5 months left in the year? What did I even do with my time? How am I going to get everything done at work? You might be feeling overwhelmed, short on time, energy and optimism.
At the end of each week, many people find themselves unfurling from desks like stale, hollow croissants - depleted and unclear about what we are all really trying to achieve (other than affording essential needs). Who else feels like this? Is it age? Is it self-induced? Is it changing seasons or is it something bigger and cyclical?
The Paradox
Enter the paradox of the immovable object meeting an irresistible force. The paradox is that no object can resist an irresistible force. No force can move an immovable object. So if an immovable object meets an irresistible force it will move and not move. Well, pg'ers, we think demands on your time (work, bills, responsibilities) are the unmovable object and your values, life goals and personal priorities are the irresistible force in the search for feeling enough.
Validating the pressure and sharing solutions
This paradox is why we created pg in the first place - to share that this pressure, this sense of always trading one thing at the cost of another, of not feeling enough, of not getting it right, of letting people down or losing your way - is valid and there's a whole lot of people feeling like this. We have to give ourselves permission to define what it is we want to do with our time, our relationships, our lives and our energy. And we have to relentlessly protect those decisions through self-reflection.
Cultivating calm and peace
The question we ask ourselves at pg, when we think about how we spend our time at work, at social engagements, staying up too late, burning out, procrastinating, and not being present is: is it really worth it? And we further ask, what is it costing you? If that cost (be it time, energy, money, self-esteem, relationships, or hope) is too high and the why is unclear, then change has to happen. We continually explore those changes in our blog and offer pragmatic tactics to help you figure out the changes that are right for you. Subscribe to receive our updates weekly.
As the leaves colour, curl & crunch, we'll keep thinking through how to wrestle with this paradox and end the year in a place of calm and at peace. We will keep sharing our learnings along the way (like this little gem).
Take a deep breath, you are enough, even if things feel like a paradox.
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