|
Welcome
to the "Riding the Wave - The Wave Riders™ "
Newsletter. http://www.thewaveriders.com
|
"Cheers
to a Productive Energy Kind of Day"!©.
by Indigo Irwin Kennedy
Based on Theories from the Book - The Wave Riders ™
|
 |
"Cheers, to a productive
energy day" I said, to an artist friend I work with.
We continued to be under the stress of multiple deadlines
and too much work for us to keep up with.
It meant months of "pumping
out creativity" and it was wearing heavily on us. We
were now trying to squeeze out creative energy like toothpaste
from an old tube. And on this day, a Sunday, we were trying
to do a final push to "get above the rising waters".
We had closed the doors and said no more work will come in
until we are caught up and have had time to rebuild our energy
but as hard as we tried to squeeze that door closed, more
work slipped in under the door.
12 -14 hours were common and
not planned - the days just oozed through our fingers like
trying to hold Jell-O in your hands on a hot summer's day.
Families understood as they knew we were working hard for
them but we knew there was a problem rising.
We know enough about being Wave
Riders that we also know that as soon as we have reached the
peak of this progress, and a moment comes where we get to
stop, a sneaky little beast will start to crawl into bed with
us. The beast of depression missing no opportunity to lay
beside us tormenting us with words like, "Life sucks
- just stay in bed", "You will never have any fun
- all you ever do is work", "You will never be any
good - no one loves you", "What is the point".
We know this pace of work is
not good for us. With this work habit comes weight problems
- not from laziness but from exhaustion and the desire to
get "quick energy" to keep going.
We are not pushing hard for
the money, we are pushing hard for our clients - but that
does not matter. The end results are the same. The heart pumps
harder, the blood vessels constrict under the stress, we don't
drink enough water, we don't breathe enough air and we don't
move from our seated position. The new work force has often
been found snoozing on their keyboards.
You might ask, why are we doing
this to ourselves? However, a good portion of this generation
of workers and self-employed business people are not shocked
at all. They too are in this same pattern - it is the way
many people in the computer/internet industry work. It is
the way many people running a job, a family, a business and
volunteering for non-profit societies work. We do too much,
always thinking we can do a little more.
The difference for those that
I work with is that we have set up a Wave Rider Business and
we understand what that means. We do not encourage this overwork
and we do all that we can to prevent it - but we know that
the creative minds among us are prone to working long hours.
In a push to move ourselves
ahead in prime demand period we pushed ourselves to the limits.
We leaped forward and accomplished the task of "gaining
ground" against rising costs - but what is the hidden
cost that we were paying with each day of long hours?
The price we paid was the price
of a lowering in energy and the rising of the depressive state.
But something here is different.
Our support group for creative minds kicked in and we knew
what to do. Many people would end up walling in misery at
this point because they think that the depression is a failure
of their minds. Depression is simply the outcome.
So when our support group steps
in they remind us. "Don't stop cold turkey - wean yourself
from the overwork" - a few extra breaks, a few extra
walks, a few extra short cat naps.
Our Wave Rider support network
reminds us that "What you are thinking is not real!"
- we love what we do but at this point we hate it and can't
bring ourselves to the keyboard….but we must because
there is more to do - so we begin to think we hate what we
do…but we know better - so we don't listen to the lies
brought forth from the depressed mind and we that voice what
we do know
STOP That negative talk - THAT
IS NOT THE TRUTH!
We lovingly, tuck ourselves
into bed at a decent hour and we do healthy things that we
know we like even though we don't think we like them at this
time. These are usually simple things like; a hot shower,
a sunset walk, a good (not sad) movie.
Many tech workers pick this
time to socialize - not a good idea. We overwork on our computers
and then when we are so exhausted that our brains barely know
how to delete an email we decide -"Well, I can't get
any work done so I guess I will go out and see a client or
visit a friend." At this point of exhaustion, we can
barely talk, can't think and are almost in a groggy state.
Yet, this is when we chose to socialize and it is likely that
during this socialization we will feel uncomfortable…because
we are "not 100%". For some reason we cannot speak,
can't think and feel out of place. We now lay the foundation
for social anxiety.
We begin to believe that "something
is terribly wrong with us" - and it is - it's not personal
- we used up "all of our ability" social and otherwise
and will now have to nurture ourselves until "the glass
of creative juices" fills up again. This is the up and
down cycle of creativity and if you don't know why it is happening
your life may seem like an uncontrolled bursts of creativity
and debilitating depression and you won't be able to understand
yourself. You can't understand why you simply cannot keep
producing. When you step outside the pattern of overwork it
makes perfect sense, yet difficult to see while you are emerged
in the obsession of the work.
Eventually those that do not
understand this cycle become the most concerned when they
are down and depressed and this is when they seek help. They
often become diagnosed as "bi-polar" and a fear
spreads through their thoughts and their friends and family.
Bi-polar is really just a word
meaning two poles up and down. It is not a word to be scared
of. There are many levels of bipolar waves, small and large.
Your solution may just be in the balancing of the overwork/overplay
cycle that you are in. Your cycles may be extremely high and
hard to balance or you may not have watched them before and
they are simply "wild and unruly". Observation of
your own cycle can help you to not take yourself so seriously
when you simply need a rest and enable you to not "take
your creative energy use too far".
Readers of The Wave Riders book
know how to analyze their cycles and what to do on each level
of the creative energy wave. It however, does not mean that
we won't fall prey to the overwork and the lows….it means
for us that we know we have to stop overworking as soon as
possible, and we know to set a better lifestyle for ourselves….and
when we fall, we know to lovingly bend down and help ourselves
back up because - we need the understanding from ourselves
more than any one else.
We have been successfully working
a Wave Rider business. This means compensating with extra
time off to make up for a late night of work to balance and
keep the productive energy and joy in our work. I wrote the
book and yet I have to constantly remind myself and the people
that work with me to maintain the balance. The popularity
of our business led us blindly into the overwork syndrome
again. Thankfully, we are aware that maximum capacity working
is counter-productive over the long term and so have implemented
steps to return to a balance environment.
We do not have the need to stay in depression - as we recognize
its cause and know that the tender treatment of ourselves
works much faster to replenish the burn out than beating ourselves
up does.
I hope that if you have fallen
into a depressive state that you will look at the patterns
of your life and place the blame on the true cause and that
cause is most likely exhaustion. Whatever the cause of your
exhaustion; work, play, projects, new home, new baby, or too
many visitors and not enough quiet alone time - stop listening
to the voice that tells you this is forever. Stop listening
to the voice that tells you that YOU and only YOU were left
out of the "Happy Gene"…it is what billions
of people tell themselves on a regular basis, that "It
is only ME that is different - no one else can possibly understand"…well
we do. The thought that it is only YOU is just one more of
the deceptive lies you have been telling yourself.
So, I am off to balance, and
to breathe, and to appreciate where I am at today - without
thought of what I could or should have. I will wallow simply
in appreciation for this moment and TLC for my mind and body.
I will not desert myself and will instead stand firmly in
support of who I am.
I hope that you will do the same.
Here is a great BIG E-Hug to
get you through today.
Remember, I am here should you
need a slap to tell you to get off your rump and stop feeling
sorry for yourself…you need to give yourself hugs not
self-loathing because you have been working hard for you and
you better start nurturing that temple that you keep using
as an engine without oil.
Remember that if you have really
"burned the midnight oil" that it will take time
for you to come out of depression, but not listening to your
own negative thought and instead nurturing yourself will bring
you back much faster.
Take care and breathe,
Indigo
Think The Wave Riders helped
you and you think it could help others? Nominate it for the
2009 Kaiser Awards for helping people stay away from addictions,
with better mental health. TheWave Riders newsletters, online
articles and email assistance are free and could use the support
of an organization like the Kaiser foundation - You don't
have to live in Canada to let them know that The Wave Rider
theories, book, newsletters and articles have helped you.
Email addresses are provided below. We want to build "a
relax and recover" resort for The Wave Riders that will
enable us to build better Wave Riding habits and prevent the
burn out that so often leads to addictions of drugs, alcohol,
shopping, sex and food. All pushes forward help.
Go to http://www.kaiserfoundation.ca/awards
For more information or contact them via the following information.
National Awards for Excellence Foundation Useful Links Contact
Us
102 - 1590 Bellevue Avenue,
West Vancouver, BC, Canada V7V 1A7
Tel: 604.926.9767 / 1.866.926.9766 Fax: 1.866.265.5906 or
send an email to...
General inquires - info@kaiserfoundation.ca
National Awards for Excellence Program- awards@kaiserfoundation.ca
Look
for more articles coming in The Wave Riders newsletters.
Indigo
http://www.thewaveriders.com
Respond to this article by emailing
Indigo E-mail info@thewaveriders.com
Click
here to order The Wave Riders Book
(http://www.thewaveriders.com/order.html)
|
