36 Hours

I used to always say that I like to have 36 hours of things to do in a 24 hour day. Basically, I don't like being bored, because when I am bored, I do absolutely nothing of value. I get sucked into the black hole and hang out there. Whereas when I'm busy, I tend to thrive, go mach-10 and cruise through it. It is nice to sometimes have those down times, totally open days, weekends, even a week of it just to recharge, finish that book, etc.

Right now I'm definitely NOT in one of those boredom black holes. I am full-speed-ahead, 36 hours of things to do in my 24 hour days. Some of it is voluntary, overbooking my social calendar, taking on volunteer opportunities, signing up for a 2nd bookclub, getting ready to start PADI certification which will be twice a week from 5:30-9:30pm for a month. Then there's work. Two clients. One project launching on Monday. They've got me by the proverbial balls, challenging my tolerance and resilience every single day. I think back to past accounts that were tough and stressful and they are like the JV version of what I'm dealing with now. This may sound like a negative rant, but the truth of it is, I'm learning more now than ever...despite my blood pressure being higher the past 4 months than it's ever been, despite the insomnia returning b/c I can't shut off the work to-do lists, despite somedays feeling powerless, it's also exhilerating. I'm growing so much as a professional, who can complain about that?!?

The rest of it, the voluntary crazyness...some days I think, I should say no to this or that, I should skip the gym, I should ignore the stacks of personal emails. But then I think, these are the benefits of a long day...relaxing with friends over good food and wine, pounding the pavement (or treadmill or indoor track) to release the stresses of the day, diving into the pool to freestyle my way to relaxation, getting ready to start a course and get certified to scuba dive anywhere in the world, volunteering with a local NPO for a big event this spring. It's all rewarding in their own ways, all fulfilling after a long day. It can seem tedious sometimes, thinking about how I really just want to go sit on my couch and do nothing...but then I remind myself, there's a whole lot of time for nothing when we're 6 feet under.

Just think...when you are having a long, hard day or a schedule that seems more full than humanely possible...if you weren't busy during the day you'd be jobless, if you weren't overbooked you'd be friendless, hobbyless, interest-less. Amen to being none of that.