I used to be pissed at myself during downtime. I thought it was smart to constantly push yourself and be busy 24/7, until you look back at the sum of what you were doing and realize that 90% of your efforts were wasted on nothingness, and only 10% really mattered.
I’ve gone through a lot of roller-coasters in the last 10+ years. I’m currently shaking off the last remaining signs of an entrepreneur spirit depression. I’ve come to realize that a busy person is a fool. Going a hundred miles an hour with no direction is foolish, and even with direction you need time to think and contemplate your next move. I’m a very lucky person, someone gifted me with a brain with an 148 IQ and know what I want, but there is a layer of something holding me back. At first I thought it was because I didn’t want to outshine people, but I realized, that is me caring about the next man over myself. Which is silly when you’re playing in mud. Then I thought it was because I thought when I arrived I’d have no new ideas – which is ironic since I have floods of ideas coming to me every moment of the day. I realized I was going too fast and not going into God Mode.
God Mode is where you contemplate your moves carefully, conserve your energy and have patience. Not only does it make you seem more wise, but it also gives you more options when you stop to think 3 or 4 steps ahead in all matters. Since Gods cannot die, they have endless patience and can wait an eternity to act. I don’t have that luxury – so I can only go into God Mode sparingly. I eventually realized that going a hundred miles an hour is still not efficient. You can’t run your car at 8x RPM from start to you get to your destination – so like all things you need breaks.
Down Time is important in everything, it helps with the thought process.
Master the Art of Timing – Law 35 (The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene)
Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.
Another interesting concept I’ve come across is hibernation. When you have complete downtime for long periods of time that’s hiberation. Don’t be miserable, don’t be angry, just train, meditate, and learn to organize clear thoughts. Animals hibernate for months during the winter and then spring up back to full energy and life when the spring comes. Don’t be afraid of long periods of hibernation or downtime, use that to sharpen your skills for the unknown task ahead that awaits you.
“If your mind is focused, your goals are clear, but still known, simply wait for the moment to arrive – and that moment you will know is the true moment to act.” – CCarter (yeah I can make up quotes, cause it’s CC.O.Y.P)
Its a good one, CCarter.
“I used to be pissed at myself during downtime. I thought it was smart to constantly push yourself and be busy 24/7, ” – this is ME lol. Now im relieved im not the only one.
And though deep inside i knew that periods like these are needed and they serve their own purpose
“When you have complete downtime for long periods of time that’s hiberation. Don’t be miserable, don’t be angry, just train, meditate, and learn to organize clear thoughts. ”
i still been resisting them. Its gonna be a lil easier now 😉
Thank you for this post, it is no less important than the practical aspects of IM.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I figured I’d leave the IM circlejerk nonsense to the SEO Bloggers, and talk about things I actually love talking about. The mental battles are more interesting to me since the topic transcends the IM industry and is the real struggle and reason there is a constant fight between humans and their desires.
Nice article, but the Title could be SEO’d a little better.
I assume you are joking…
If not, you shouldn’t wasting trying to SEO a piece of art or masterpiece, lol, sound silly. What if Ayn Rand SEOed “Atlas Shrugged”, what would the title be then…
This is kind of an intuitive concept that I am surprised more people don’t grasp. The most important part of any action is in its’ planning, and that planning can take 90% or more of the actual act.
To see the first act, the possible reaction, your intended action to the reaction, and so forth down the line is quite literally the most important facet of any operation.
Anticipating the second, third, and next move all the way to the end before even making your first is the key to success. To have a complete plan of action constructed in your mind is the only way to go. The greatest philosopher said as much:
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?”
CCarter is asking us whether we have counted the cost before we have even begun. Have we consolidated our armies and counted the troops, that we may defeat those who we are going into battle against?
“Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”
Before we commit an act in reality, we must first commit that entire act in the reality of our mind. Then the act of actually finishing it in our physical reality is merely the capstone of the entire process.
I love your reply and quotes! Thanks you! I think you helped shine a brighter light on the subject than I did.
Very Cool, love the picture too haha..I have noticed myself I am more of a seasonal networker, really hit grind phases and then relaxation phases!