“I can’t take the afternoon off, even though, in my current state of mind, I’m not doing much in the office anyway”. Sounds familiar?
I’ve heard a couple of men in the last week describing their relationship with their work. They said things like: “I'm working during the week so can only have a session on the weekend”.
These are men that run their own business.
They don’t need an approval from their boss. Well, they do. They need an approval from themselves, and they find it hard to ask, give and take it.
Some thoughts:
Identity: Our identities are connected to our work, achievements, and actions. We were taught that we are our accomplishments. All these are external validations. We spend our life seeking and chasing them. Why do we use "trophies" to validate our existence?
Time: We have an interesting relationship with time. “I don’t have time for that” actually means “I’m not making this a priority”. Men put their work in priority to their health, their relationships, and their joy. Time is a made-up constraint. Who said that work needs to happen 5 days a week between 9am and 5pm? Why is it that I can so easily convince myself to stay at work longer but have so much trouble with finishing work early?
Self-love: Putting myself first, being in tune with my needs and being able to meet them is about self-love. Do I love myself enough to “approve” taking the afternoon off work? Why is it still hard for me to realise that taking an afternoon off work will make me healthier, happier, and more productive in the long run?
We are natural creatures who are detached from nature. We have modern day, industrial era constraints that tell us how to live our lives. We work, then we play.
Nature doesn’t run a clock. Nature doesn’t have a seven-day week. Nature doesn’t differentiate work and play. It just is. It’s just called: Living.
This is how I feel when I walk in the paddock. There, on land, with horse energy, I feel relaxed enough to shed ideas of time, expectations, and restraints. I am just being, and that’s ok.
It's a time of renewal, self-discovery, self-awareness, health, rejuvenation, meditation, and joy. It’s the time I feel most alive.
This week, I invite you to erase the line between work and play.
Take an afternoon off.
Go out to nature and step into the king that you are.
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