I run a YouTube channel, Between Two Teeth w. my co-host Dr. Robert G. McNeill, DDS, MD, MBA, FACD, FICD. We also run a busy practice, The Dental Specialists – Surgical Specialists in Garland, Tx, and have a busy travel schedule.
This weekend was dedicated to stepping away from the ‘busyness’ of life: travel, practice, social media in order to make room to re-define our brand and brainstorm about future endeavors.
In sports, space is created on the court or field. It’s intentional or discovered. In a similar way with our brain, when we are under constant stimulation, we have an opportunity to clear ourselves of that stimulation and create space. What happens in those moments of silence and space? Keep reading!
Recently, I listened to a Rich Roll podcast w. Mr. Neil Pasricha, a Canadian author known for writing his best sellers: “The Book of Awesome” and “The Happiness Equation”. Rich and Neil talk about having intentionality to create space to think, meditate and be creative. Society tends to overvalue ‘busyness’ as a litmus test for importance and meaning. If you are constantly busy with meetings or work – then your value to society is ‘more’ than someone who say doesn’t have back to back meetings or say spends more time at home, away from the office. I know people who run for hours through busy work just to avoid being at home – but that’s a topic for another post.
What happens when we stop using busyness as a coping mechanism for our feelings of insecurity and lack of depth of relationships? We grow. We get in touch with that inner voice that thinks as big or small as we need. I run to meditate. Today, my point is this: it’s okay to block out time/space to simply be. Neil talks about having 1 day per month where he is “unreachable” – no phone, no social media, he simply unplugs. Neil is an award winning author, international speaker, husband and father who is constantly on the go. If he has time to unplug, chances are you do too.
There is growth in the spaces outside of our comfort zones. I kindly invite you to step outside the comfort of busyness, busy-work and take a day to create or dream. Perhaps you will sleep and do your best work there, perhaps you will have that conversation with that friend or family member you have been delaying. Perhaps you will give yourself a chance to check in where you are at in life and where you want to go in the next 1yr, 5yrs, or 10yrs. Don’t be afraid to dream big at any age, because chances are you have time to do something about it.
I want to leave you with one thought and a story:
- What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?
Story (credit Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss Show #672):
- An uncle asks his nephew ‘do you know how long you will be dead’. The nephew replies, ‘no’. The uncle continues, ‘I don’t either, but I do know you’ll be dead much longer that you will be alive, so why on earth would you waste one minute of life doing something you don’t enjoy doing?’
