Urgency
Noun; importance requiring swift action
As I grow, so does my self-expectation to become better at everything I do, as well as continuing to do more. Everybody says that now is the time to set yourself up for your future. Mingle, move, invest and learn more and more everyday. Although this is moderately true, I think it’s contributed to an underlying fear of ‘running out of time’. Feeling like I have to do everything now otherwise I’ll miss the opportunity to make the most of life, and set my self up for the successful life I aspire to have; although, this is truly a paradox in itself. The constant stage of urgency that I put my body in to get stuff done, in order to create a happy and fulfilling life, is actually causing me distress and anxiety. The consistent worry of future events stops me from being aware of what I already have.
With every new decade we enter, we’re hit with the “this is the time of your life, make sure you make the most of it”, which results in us being so critical of every action, and stressing over making sure we are living up to the expectation we self-idealised.
Everybody is going to move at different paces. It’s unavoidable that you’re going to encounter people that may be the same age, yet have a higher tax bracket, or a healthier diet, or a healthier relationship, none of these mean that you’ve missed your chance for the same thing.
The truth is, it is important to perform daily tasks that make you the best person you can be, but focus on how you feel as you do them, not what it can bring you in the future. It can be such insignificant acts; going on a walk or saying hi to a stranger.
Taking action purely from fear of failure makes you lose sight of what genuinely brings you joy. For example, if you exercise purely because you want to improve your physique for the future, you’re going to lose sight of the progress you’ve actually made, since you’re so concerned on what you could or should have by the time the ‘future’ approaches.
Rather:
Exercise because of how it makes you feel when the serotonin kicks in, not because you want to look different.
Invest because it helps you learn and grow, not because you’ll be ‘broke’ if you don’t.
Eat well because it makes you feel energised, not because you need to ‘lose or gain weight’.
Mingle because it improves your social skills, not because you have to find ‘the one’.
Fall in love with the process and what it brings you right now, because hyperfixating on the end goal will only bring you disappointment and harder goals to tackle.
Leave a Reply