One-Eighth
This morning I read a timely article by one of my favorite writers and thinkers, Derek Thompson (@DKThomp on Twitter). It was titled, "Your Career Is Just One-Eighth of Your Life" and it got me thinking (as his writing and podcasts usually do).
I spend a lot... A LOT... of time thinking about this one-eighth of my life. Most days, I spend four-eighths of my day thinking about the one-eighth. I stress and I worry and I wonder if what I am doing during the one-eighth is meaningful, sustainable, and/or desirable. One-eighth occupies more than one-eighth space in my mind.
I have made the grave mistake of equating my career with my life. I caught up with some old friends and the only thing I could bring myself to talk about was how good, bad, or otherwise, my one-eighth was going. I did not talk about my partner, or my dog, or what I am reading, or my health, or the number of other things happening in the world. I talked about the one-eighth like it was four-eighths. Like it was eight-eighths.
Why?
I think I follow too many people online whose one-eighth is to talk about how to optimize my one-eighth. It just makes me feel shitty about my one-eighth. I don't have the secret sauce. My decisions have not been strategic enough. My one-eighth will be so much better if I do x...y...&& z.
I want to find a way for my one-eighth to actually occupy one-eighth. I don't think I can hack or optimize my way to it.
Enjoy your one-eighth today. Delight in your seven-eighths even more.