adventurous living

November 29th, 2012   /   11 COMMENTS   /   life   /   Think About It

 

As I type this post I have to do the following in the next twenty minutes: write this post, put makeup on/do my hair, take the puppy out, and leave for my monthly business mentorship meeting.

Needless to say, I’m typing coherent sentences as quickly as possible.

Lately, this has been my life.

I “thought” that ending Jess LC, finishing the apartment, and getting past the Thanksgiving holidays would leave me peaceful. That I’d have more time to breathe, to ponder, to wax poetic here on the blog for as long as I liked.

But the truth is that I’m almost a week out from those major projects passing and I’m still frantic with many new projects in my plate. How will I get them all done in time?

I’m honestly not quite sure, but I said a prayer and I’m hoping for the best.

I was relating my story to a recent Business with Intention workshopper, Kimberly of Daily Sip Studios in our first session. Without skipping a beat she said, “I think that’s just how you live your life.”

Bam.

The woman had known me for twenty minutes and she had me pegged.

As much as I am all about making under my life and I understand that less is more… I seem to personally have a habit of crafting new, exciting projects like it’s my job (oh wait, it kinda is).

But the effect of this enthusiasm is a constant state of, “I have so much to do now, how is it all going to come together? And when to I get to r-e-s-t?”

I think this is in part because of my strengths, according to Strengths Finder 2.0. One of my biggest strengths (besides the world’s least sexy trait: individualization) is activator.

Once I have an idea (which is my second biggest strength: ideation), I want to make it happen NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week, right NOW.

So I suppose with the strength of ideation and activator I’m kinda destined to have this crazy life that I lead. Even though I’m constantly trying to reign it in and simplify along the way.

Though I normally have a clear point at the end of my posts, this one I’m leaving open ended. I think I am just now becoming fully aware of this duality in my life and I am not sure exactly yet how to make peace with it.

Do I just accept that my life will always be crazy and that’s how I, in some [insane] part of my brain, prefer it? Or do I try to let my ideas percolate a bit longer and spread them out over more ‘reasonable’ time frames?

I think there is truth to both approaches.

But right now, I have makeup to put on, a dog to take out, and a meeting to make before I can find the right balance.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1250370056 Amanda Genther

    I also have activator as one of my main strengths, and also feel the need to create NOW as soon as I have an idea. It’s a gift and a curse at the same time. I’m working on planning things out in 2013 so that I’m less stressed and continue to create a sustainable business model (and so I don’t get burnt out). We’re definitely the same in that aspect!

  • http://goodlifeforless.blogspot.com Jill

    Wait, did I write this or did you? :) I feel the same way… Like I can’t slow down if I wanted to, because really… I don’t want to. There are positives to this type of lifestyle, I also think there are some downsides too. Recognizing we are this way is the first step… the second step, I’m still unsure about. I would love to hear more if/when you find out what works for you.

  • http://exoticdonkeymeat.com Kate

    JESS LIVELY. I think I love reading your blog because we go through the same realizations at the same time. My #2 strength is Activator, right after Learner. (And oh, Hey Amanda and Jill who also are humans who are similar to me that I am excited to communicate with)

    At one point in my life, I was a 3/4 time student (more than half, not quite full) working at least 30, if not 45, hours a week, volunteering almost all of my weekends to a rescue group, maintaining the Volunteer & Intake coordinator roles for that rescue group during most of my evenings AND I had a [difficult] foster dog 24/7.

    I’m down to just a 40 hr/wk job, my own dogs, and improv. I have more free time than ever. You know what?

    I don’t enjoy free time.

    I would so much rather be doing something productive. The only way I’ve learned to rest is by traveling. I will travel someplace with no agenda, no commitments (other than accommodations) and I typically travel alone (this is key – company stresses me out and pushes me to plan an agenda for the day [blech]). It’s there, in Barcelona or San Francisco or Happy Jack AZ, when I’m sightseeing, that I’m actually resting with my thoughts. When I’m free of the projects that I’m working on, and I don’t have the space to start a new project (I don’t take laptops on these trips), that I can reflect and be happy.

  • Margie

    As long as you see rest as a result and not an action, you will never get to it. As in, “if I get all fifteen or twenty things on my to do list done, then I will rest” vs “I will actively put leisure on my list and work it into my day”. I have started putting “read a chapter of my current book” or “Page through latest Elle Decor while drinking a glass of wine” on my list. Because it is something I need to do, it just happens to be something I need to do for me and not for someone else.

  • Amye

    I’ve enjoyed stumbling across your blog, especially when discovering that our personal and professional goals seem highly aligned. Alas, I don’t have “activator” so I have just been thinking about reaching out to you rather than actually doing it!
    But I had to write after you described individualization as “the world’s least sexy trait” – ! I love my individualization. Why do you struggle with identifying with that trait? I’m a huge “Strengthsquest” fan and, as you know, strengths are…strengths. they’re all positive and bring value individually and their combinations.
    Comments are probably not the best forum to talk more about this but I would love to talk more, and understand more, if you’re interested in talking Strengths with a fellow individualizer.

  • Jess

    Amye, thanks for your comment! I’m happy to hear you love your strengths as well! I joke about the title, not the actual strength. It’s definitely a useful one, though it’s not something that I “get excited” about as much as my other strengths. So no worries, it’s a joke more than anything about the title than the quality.

  • http://www.dailysipstudios.com Kimberly

    It is one thing to live a crazy life and always be “busy.” It is a completely different thing to live a crazy life and be “productive.” It makes you happy to create and inspire and help others, which in turn benefits more people than you probably realize. Loved our recent chats. xo Kimberly

  • Virginia

    Hi Jess,
    I read many of the same books you do, and I wonder if you’ve tried or considered meditation. As a fellow Type-A personality, I’ve found it to be helpful (when I make time for it). If your life is going to be hectic, it might be nice to create at least some mental peace. Meditation is great for over-achievers because it creates a bit of calm in otherwise hectic minds/lives but it also is supposed to help with focus (yay, productivity!).

  • Marta

    Hi Jess! I really would like to have more “activator” strength! I plan and analize, ometimes really too much, instead of just DO! I think you are lucky with your activator… I’m just wondering if I can change that or you have to be born with this characteristic?

    xo, Marta

  • Jess

    Marta, according to the Strengths Finder book concept, I was just born with it. But I’m sure you could use your strengths to find a way to get more active in your own way! : )

  • Marta

    Thanks for your answer Jess! It’s very helpful, I’ll try to do this. And I will buy this book, especially after your recommendation in last week’s newsletter!