6 Elements of Stressful Living

and how to Live and Work Stress Free:

Day 2: Rushing

This is a series of six articles. Get Day 1: Pushing here.

Rushing is about accelerating, multi-tasking, overworking and losing the joy and inner peace in an effort to “catch-up” with what you mentally decide should be done.

Rush is part of the rhythm of life. Even water sometimes rushes forward. But rushing all the time, as a lifestyle or a workstyle not only creates stress but steals the joy of life and robs your of inner peace.

This leaves out little time for strategy, project management or to do things calmly in due course. If this sounds familiar, you need a better workflow and time management system.

Another reason for rushing is that we are comparing ourselves to others and try to “beat them to the punch.” As in the first element in this series, pushing, ~rushing is frequently the result of the inappropriate or ineffective use of the aggressive force.

A final, deeper reason for rushing is that we have separated ourselves so profoundly from life and our environment that we believe we are alone in a hostile world. We are working alone, without help. Life is working against us. This leads to trying to “make it happen” by controlling the details and the course of everything.

The truth is that time does not run faster because you are rushing. The only thing you accomplish is to run ahead of yourself and fall!

Stop Rushing!

Everything that exists is energy in flow. As in the case of finding the grain and moving along it, when we harmonize with the flow of things, we don’t have to rush.

The first thing you need to do to stop rushing is to slow down. Smell the roses. Enjoy what you are doing. Breathe slowly and deeply. Feel your body. Be present now. As you do, fill yourself with inner peace. No matter how urgent something is, staying in the present makes you more efficient with much less stress.

Timely results are not an accident. They don’t have to be the result of strife, either. In fact, they are often the result of good planning, effective systems and  good time management.

If you know the results you are expected to deliver, the tasks you must do to get these results and the time of delivery, you can create a system and manage your time effectively to create timely results.

When you put the tasks on time, don’t lie. Give them the time they REALLY take. When in doubt, multiply by 3, and that’s the real time.

Honor The Inevitables

If you are rushing, you may not be taking into consideration what I call The Inevitables. When you are planning your time, it’s smart to add time for the inevitable, which usually takes one or all of these forms:

• Emergencies: They happen. The computer breaks down, the internet goes off, a fellow worker gets sick. A good idea is to add 2-3 days to the REAL time something takes (see item below) to account for emergencies. You will be known as someone whose delivery dates can be trusted.
• Daily tasks: You need to read and answer email, letters and phone calls. You need to take time to reflect and strategize. There are meetings and bills to pay. When you place these in your calendar methodically, then you know the real time you have left. For example, on Tuesdays the only thing I do is write and post my blogs and social media. I do it all in one day so that I don’t have to worry about this every day. On Thursdays I do technical stuff early and clients in the afternoon. Giving time to the repetitive things you need to do allows you to clearly see the REAL time you have left for projects and clients. That avoids you offering to do something too early and then having to rush.
• The Unknown: So you are half-way through when your competitor’s campaign goes out and there are elements too similar to what you have created. Back to the drawing table. So you present your model and the client hates it. So your editor sends the book back and it had triple the errors you expected. You can’t foresee everything. You can’t plan for everything. Things will show up that you don’t expect, even with the best of planning and years of experience. Shamans honor the Unknown as a force in the universe that can either be your ally or your opponent. You choose.

Is Rushing a Cover-up?

If you find yourself rushing even after having good systems in place, check to see if the rushing is not the symptom of a deeper malady: you feel insufficient. You compare yourself to others and come out a loser. You don’t know your unique value and therefore are trying to cover all the basis, do it all.

If this is true, STOP THE WORLD! Get off that horse immediately.

You need to develop unconditional self-love and acceptance, without judgment, for yourself just as you are right now.

The satisfaction of your boss or clients is not so much about rushing to deliver first. It is often the result of you meeting your promise Is this promise the promise you came here to make? Is it true to you? Does it match your gifts, skills and values?

Once you find the right promise, work will flow gracefully and you will be able to deliver it authentically, without trying to do everything for everyone.

You are not alone!

Finally, create a meditation practice that helps you get in tune with the flow of life. Release the Orphanhood of the Soul that has been dumped on your Soul. You are a Child of Gaea. You are a Child of the Stars. You are in the universe and the universe is IN YOU.

You don’t make things happen. You co-create them with the other forces in the environment and the higher forces in higher dimensions. When you become a team player and recognize how these forces are acting, you can work with them instead of against them. Then you won’t need to rush. You will flow.

This is a series of 6 articles.

Next Tuesday: Day 3: Dutyfying

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How do you rush? Any ideas on how to stop rushing that have worked for you? Feel free to share on the comments below!

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