Joey+Deadlines & Why Nature isn't Stressed

Work can be a pressure cooker. From the moment you wake up, you're blood pressure rises and your mind starts racing with all you will have to do, people you will be interacting with and the meetings; so many meetings. In the midst of all this, there are deadlines.

It can be hard to stay focused on doing your best when in your mind you hear the clock ticking. To help with this, some people meditate in the middle of the day, listen to music or take walks; whatever they can do to stay calm to do their best work. One thing to remember in these harried moments is Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished ~ Lao Tzu. This came from a tag on my tea this past week. This is easy to say but not as easy to keep in mind when meeting after meeting and email after email you're being asked your status on something.

However, working this past week with Joey, My co-worker, reading the tag on my tea bag, he gave me a jolt of reality. The zen of that moment about nature not being hurried was calmly and matter of factually met with "that's because nature doesn't have deadlines". Action items, milestones, deadlines, end times, due dates, closing dates, cut off dates, target dates all words that mean "work assignments have a deadline". On one hand, this could be looked at with gloom, but Joey and I thought it was the funniest thing ever said; at least in that moment. The reality of it all is what helped us get through it. Knowing we are not nature with it's blooming flowers and budding trees, but rather we are hustling grinding breathing humans whose goals are to be the best at what we do and to do this we have to meet those deadlines.

So, when you wake in the morning and the racing thoughts of the day begin just remember it's those deadlines that set you apart from the slackers and mediocre staffers you work around. Meeting those deadlines is why your work plate is always full and your name is known within the office, with all the clients your company supports and colleagues in other departments; You're not a flower, but you still accomplish everything and it looks just as nice.

#teamwork #positivity #deadlines #milestones #Bsaldua #Jose #LaoTzu #Nature #workstress #Careerstrategy #zen