Hi,
Last week, I admitted that I am a workaholic.
Admitting it to myself and putting my experience into words for you was a huge relief in and of itself.
At first I was afraid of sending that email, because I think there is an image of me out in the world
that some people call “my brand,” and it wasn’t fully aligned with who I really am and how I really feel.
I’m not perfect. My life isn’t perfect. And entrepreneurship isn’t always fun.
I think Bob Marley said it best when he said:
“I’m not trying to reach people. I am who I am. And I believe that there
a lot of people out there just like me.”
In Week #1 of my recovery, I made some adjustments thanks to all of your amazing comments, emails,
and recommendations. A lot of the stuff you shared wasn’t new. For some reason, despite knowing
what’s best for me, I had difficulty closing the knowing-doing gap.
Have you ever felt like that? You know exactly what to do and how to do it, but you just don’t do it.
My “working” (no pun intended) definition of addiction is a way of living that prevents who I am from
aligning with or catching up to who and how I want to be.
This week, I was very focused on what has worked and I chose to spend my time a little differently.
My motto for the week was “slow up” rather than “slow down.” I’ve always had this idea in my mind
that going slower meant falling behind and getting less done, but I’m testing if slower can equal higher.
Some highlights from Week #1 of my recovery include:
– I started meditating again. My first sit was only 5 minutes, but I got up to 15 minutes later on.
– My wife and I went to see Divergent in the middle of the day. The theater was empty.
– I flew to LA for a speaking gig and surprised my best friend for a mid-day lunch.
– I made sure to call 10 people who are important to me just to check-in and say “Hello.”
– After that, I went to the beach and skipped rocks on the Pacific Ocean before speaking.
Me & my best friend breaking bread at lunch in Los Angeles
Simple stuff. Nothing radical. But the positive impact of these little choices was huge in terms of my
stress, happiness, productivity, health, and presence at home.
My coach, who I meet with weekly, forced me (in a good way) to think about my values and how I
want them to play out differently after confessing my workaholism. Obviously, I can’t be and do the
same things and expect different results. So I had to do a lot of inner work.
My top 5 values are:
- family
- growth
- fun
- work
- enough
Given last week’s annoucement, I worked on work and what it really means to me. Before, work meant
being a workaholic. It meant sometimes choosing work over my wife. It was measured in time spent. It
meant being the first one awake and at my computer. It meant working on weekends. It meant doing it
all on my own. It meant never relaxing or taking a vaction.
Not anymore.
With the help of my coach, I got clear that going forward, work means lives transformed, not time spent.
It means making my unique contribution, not doing busy work. It is a means to spending more time with
my family, not less. It means being at my best for short periods, not being average for long periods.
So that’s where I am after Week #1.
I’m happy to annouce that I’m going on a much needed vacation to Cancun, Mexico for a week. That
was my wife’s foresight and planning—not my own.I’ll write again when I get back.
I’m curious to know what work means to you. Why do you work? What does work give you in addition
to money? What are your old beliefs about work that you can know you need to let go?
Email me back or share them in the comments section below.
Sincerely,
Jullien
