Is What I’m Doing Enough?
Every once in awhile I spiral into this crazy spot where I question everything about my work life. Am I doing the right thing? Is there something else out there I should be doing? Is what I’m doing enough? What would happen if I quit it all, sold everything, moved to a Caribbean beach, and sold coconuts? These seasons of discontent come for all of us. What can we do when we are feeling this way?
Earlier this week I ran across a wall sign that reads, “Let whatever you are doing today be enough.” Each time I see it, the sign literally makes me stop and take a deep breath. Whatever I’m doing today is enough. It may not be glamorous or amazing or impactful, but it’s enough.
Ironically, I’m writing this at 8:55 p.m. because it’s been a super full two weeks at work. I’m tired and my head hurts from the storm that rolled through earlier (yeah, my brain reacts to changes in atmospheric pressure). Today has already been full of enough and here I am doing more.
“Let whatever you do today be enough,” is about more than what I get done or the hours I work or the laundry I do. It reminds me to focus on what really matters. The email can sit. The house can be a mess because it’s enough that I spent time with my husband and children today. It’s enough that we had dinner and watched a movie instead of walking the dog.
Two Things
I’ve been learning two things:
1) Rarely do others have expectations of me that exceed what I expect of myself. They aren’t disappointed in what I am doing or delivering and that liberates me to let things go.
What are you holding yourself accountable for that doesn’t really matter? Odds are good you are the only one holding yourself to the expectations that make you anxious or upset when they aren’t completed.
2) I’m also not responsible for the expectations people have of me that I haven’t agreed to. We often feel guilty that we are letting people down, but we didn’t actually agree to what they want us to do, and rarely did they ask if we wanted to do it – they simply assumed.
I’m responsible for me. That’s a big enough task without being responsible to expectations others have about me.
Work hard. Do your best. Be forgiving of yourself and others. Pause. Breathe. And repeat after me. Let whatever you do today be enough.
Keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, Sarah Gibson, helps organizations leverage the power of communication, teamwork, and diversity to improve engagement and transform teams. To buy her book or inquire about her speaking programs, please visit www.sarahjgibson.com. Sarah also runs a Vistage CEO group. Learn more by emailing her at Sarah.Gibson@VistageChair.com
