A few nights ago I dropped by a local restaurant to pick up some dinner to take home. While I waited patiently in the lobby for my food to finish being prepared, I noticed a sign on the wall. It said,
When I work I work hard
When I sit I sit loose
When I think I fall asleep
I read it again…and again. Then asked myself, What on earth does that mean? This proverb may be familiar to some of you, but it was unknown to me prior to reading it. Below is the lesson I got from the sign on the wall.
When I work I work hard
Lesson: Stay Motivated
Whatever you find yourself doing, you should do it with all of the energy and enthusiasm you can. Being able to work is a privilege. There may come a point when you are not able to do certain activities due to circumstances beyond your control. Take advantage of the opportunities you currently have.
Too often, when many of us work, we don’t work hard, we work easy. This is why we don’t get as much as we could get in return from our efforts. Instead of taking full strides, we “half-step”. And when you half-step you get half-results. Interestingly, many of us half-step then blame other people or circumstances when we get “half results”. The fact is it’s your fault so quit blaming somebody else or circumstance. Go take control.
You don’t need talent to work hard. You don’t need intelligence to work hard. You don’t need money, time, or a vacation. You just need to be motivated.
When I sit I sit loose
Lesson: When it’s time to relax, relax!
We all need to learn how to relax. We have to stop taking ourselves and petty issues so seriously. One way to do this is by letting go of the past. Let it go and get over it. You’ll never enjoy the present if you’re focused on the past. Likewise, you’ll never be able to focus on a better future. And if you’re constantly living in the past and the future seems bleak, you’ll be sitting uptight for the rest of your life. This is one recipe for being stressed out.
When you’re not working, enjoy it. For those of you who are too busy to “not work”, then schedule a time to work on relaxing. Even if it’s just 15 minutes. Relax your mind and let your body rest. You need it.
Personally, I find that when I work hard, I have no problem sitting loose. Why? Because I know I was focused and did the best I could at what I was working on. But if I don’t work hard (if I “half-step”) I don’t relax well at all. Why? Because I know that my work is not done and that I slacked off.
The harder you work the looser you’ll sit. So go work hard so you can sit loose and take a chill pill!
When I think I fall asleep
Lesson: Stop the analysis paralysis and go make it happen!
If there’s one thing I was very good at it was over analyzing. I could think myself into a slumber! On one hand, most people don’t think enough. On the other hand, some people think too much. Those of us who work work work and don’t think much, end up like the person running really fast but going down the wrong path. And those of us who think think think and don’t work much end up like the person who knows the right path but is too afraid to take the journey. We must not be idle thinkers. We must use our thinking to generate action that will bring our ideas to life.
I’m sure we all know plenty of people who 10 years ago said they are going to do XYZ. Ten years later they still haven’t done a thing. In many cases, these people started thinking too much and then fell asleep for a decade. They thought about all the things that could go wrong and all of the risks of XYZ. That is no way for us to live. Wake up and go to work!
Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is learn to play dumb and stop thinking so much! Work AND think. It’s not as hard as it sounds. I’m sure you could do both without tripping over that air cloud.
Stop thinking about the things you fear and just go do it. Stop planning, writing down, and talking about what you’re going to do and just get it done… please!
What’s Your Opinion?
There are a number of ways you can interpret the sign I read on the wall. What do you think? How do you interpret it? Does it apply to your life at all?
Posted in Success
When I work I work hard: I have learned over the years if you are not working hard + “smart” then you’re probably wasting a lot of energy or the work may not be as effective as you think. It’s literally a waste of time to not apply your full effort whenever you leave out the front door in the morning. Do more than just “stay afloat” – surf!
When I sit I sit loose: I recently went to the Dominican Repuplic for 5 days and it took me 3 days to finally peel away from my blackberry. I had to re-learn how to relax. It was pitiful. For all those that are over-worked, relaxing is indeed important for the body and mind. Do it often!
When I think I fall asleep: True indeed. Simply put – Analysis Paralysis. If you have an idea, put some thought into it and then make moves. Please put more thought into it as you move… but move. Even if you take action and fail, at least you’ve got real working knowledge – mistakes are an inevitable part of any learning process. When you loose the fear of making mistakes…or stop operating off fear period – you’ll prosper. You’re still better than the cat who has sat in their chair for the last X amount of years, thought through every detail… yet has done absolutly nothing, and probably never will. These folks value lip service and not action. Moke moves, take any losses in stride and keep moving forward. This is life.
-Peace
Excellent! I couldn’t agree more. I wonder what those two days away from your blackberry were like??
Darren-
I found your blog by accident and poked around a bit. It’s fantastic. You have lots of great things to share and a unique voice. Keep up the good work!