When you overwork, the pattern is easy to continually fall into. The solution is to have something else to do that isn’t work related.
The solution is JOY.
What do you do that brings you JOY?
Do you know?
When I ask high performers what they do that brings them joy, I get a blank look. Every single time – without fail. This is a problem!
If you don’t know what brings you joy, you’re probably going to find yourself in an endless cycle of over working.
How do I know that? Because that’s what most high performers do. Their only answer when they dig deep to what gives them joy is work. Work brings them joy, so they overwork because it makes them happy.
Why is this a problem? While work may appear to make them happy, it burns more energy than it gives a person. It negatively affects every relationship and this is why it leads to burnout or stress leave.
Most high performers don’t feel successful.
They don’t stop and look at their life to see how far they’ve come, what material objects they’ve acquired that they wanted and worked so hard for, and they don’t make their relationships a priority. It’s because they don’t have time or energy after they’ve spent it all at work.
Work is their priority, their focus. They accomplish things, they feel needed and they see results for their efforts. And I get that. I’ve been there. But here’s the thing, overworking will lead to burnout or stress leave. I see it all the time. It also leads to separation and divorce. This is why it’s crucial to have more joy in your life.
To stop overworking – you have to have something else to do.
Here’s the thing – when a high performer doesn’t have a list of things they can do to bring them joy and recharge their energy, their default is going to be work. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Why? They have time on Saturday morning with nothing else to do – might as well work on this work task and get ahead for next week.
But the problem is you have to take a BREAK from your work so you can recharge. Recharging allows you to come back to work fresh, happier, more engaged and more creative.
How do you bring more JOY into your life?
- Joy GIVES you something to do other than work.
I know you’re not going to do something that isn’t valuable for you. Joy has a purpose and that is to stop you from over working by giving you something to do that you enjoy.
The second purpose is that it recharges you. These are things you do that bring you joy AND give you more energy. Added bonus it increases your productivity and creativity.
Focusing on joy prevents burnout and stress leave. Machines have to be plugged in. Think of this as your way of plugging in and recharging so you can easily keep going.
2. Create a list of things that bring you joy.
I bet you don’t know what brings you joy. That’s ok. Most high performers don’t. Let’s change that.
Ask yourself what is fun for me to do outside in nature?
Are there any activities I did when I was younger that I’d like to try again?
Are there any creative activities you would like to try like painting, baking, cake design, floral arrangements, etc?
Where are your favorite places to go and hang out or do things at?
For example, I like water. I will RV near the water, I have a pool that I like to float in if it’s too cold outside to swim, I like to go to the ocean, and I love to kayak.
Do you see what I mean and how I can create a lot of joy for myself around the water? You can do the same with mountains, wind and fire if those elements bring you joy.
3. Schedule the joy into your calendar so you do them.
Now that you have some ideas to start with, right now write something that’ll bring you joy onto your calendar for the next weekend.
We want to make sure you’re making joy a part of your week like you do work and other obligations. What did you put on your calendar? Feel free to share it with me in the comments below.
The only way to stop overworking and overgiving as well is for you to have something else to do.
Once you get down the things that bring you joy, start doing things with family, friends and of course your partner as well. You can start by having them join in you things that bring you joy and then you can start doing things that bring them joy as well. But if you find you are drained by what brings them joy, then find other things to do with them. The goal is always to recharge.
I hope that this helps you do more things outside of work and that it has a positive impact on your relationships, time and mindset. Happy recharging!
