” My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again “- Richard Branson
Contrary to public perception, acceleration can also happen by taking the foot off the gas pedal. A marathon is never run on full flat out mode from start to finish. By doing that, you also take the risk of hurting yourself. The undulations include planned decelerations and accelerations. That way, you have a far greater chance of finishing the race rather than drop out mid way.
The opportunities for change and growth comes during periods of acceleration and deceleration. When you are on full stretch mode all the time, the shortcuts, the potential, the synergies, the opportunities etc get overlooked. A one dimensional outlook of being at full tilt all the time is like missing the wood for the trees.
A state of high alert(which is what being at full stretch demands) deprives us of the opportunity and the flexibility to ramp up or scale down based on context or situation. We short change ourselves in the process.
The ‘ jury for productivity ‘ in the court of modern life would have us believe that being at full stretch is the need of the hour, every hour. Don’t fall for it.
Burnout is not a badge of honour!
ENDS