Day 0.
Brothers, I'm exhausted. Spent. Tapped out. Depleted... I know that in the "soldier on" society we live in, and with the pressure we face to live up to an impossible masculine ideal, admitting to being exhausted and overwhelmed by life is seen as a sign of weakness. At this point, though, I have to say: I really don't give a flying fuck. Because the fact is, I'm overworked, I'm underslept, and my life is completely out of balance. I cannot deny what I'm feeling, and I'm not just going to push it down and keep it bottled up inside any more. If it makes me sound like a whining pussy, so be it. I honestly don't care anymore.
Last night, after enduring a day packed with eight back-to-back meetings and weathering a series of restless nights, I could feel that life was getting out of balance. I was super wound up and anxious, like a ball of restless energy was spinning around inside of me. But rather than finding something healthy to do that would restore the imbalance, I made the completely knuckleheaded decision to act out with P. I binged until after midnight, climbed into bed with my wife, and managed about 4 hours of sleep. So, now I feel even worse. And guess what? I have another day packed with meetings ahead of me. Oh joy!
This has led me to do a bit of soul searching this morning. Mostly asking myself why. Why, when I'm at the point of total exhaustion, do I choose to turn around and stick a knife in my own back? (This is probably physically impossible, but it seemed like a good metaphor when I said it in my head
)) Why do I do this repeatedly, again and again and again? Why can't I see what I'm doing clearly? Why am I not learning and applying what I've learned? WHY?
It was just by sheer luck that I happened to tune into Porn Free Radio this morning and heard the message I needed to hear. The answer to "why." In the episode I was listening to, the Dobber was talking about the two opposing instincts that men have that lead to imbalance: the instinct for rest and the instinct for distraction and escape (to avoid pain and discomfort). These opposing instincts have confused us into thinking that the way to get the rest we need is through distraction and escape. Even when our bodies are telling us that we're fatigued and tired, and common sense would seem to tell us that we just need to get some rest, we do the opposite, believing that the way to rest is through distraction and escape. Dobber credited this idea to the 17th century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal, who had this to say about men who are torn between these two instincts: "They do not know that it is the chase and not the quarry they seek."
First of all, MIND COMPLETELY BLOWN! What wisdom this dude had! And in the 17th century no less! It's a little hard to get my head around the idea, but it does make sense in a weird kind of way.
So, where am I going with this? I've come to realize that my current plan of seeking accountability when I'm feeling triggered (or in a situation where I could be triggered) isn't helping with the central issue: feeling out of balance. So, from now on, when I'm tapped out and can feel myself getting pulled towards distraction and escape, I'm going to do the opposite. I'm going to do something that restores the peace and calm to my life and get some much-needed rest.
Be well, everyone.