Addicted to adrenaline

I’ve noticed that I can get really productive when I’m working against an external deadline.

This pressure gives me waves of adrenaline, so I can get focused and stay moving. If you think about it, that’s a kind of drug addiction.

And it’s pervasive through our culture. We get pleasure out of constantly pushing, striving, moving. But there are dangers we need to recognize.

What troubles me is that it pushes away thoughtful reflection. That takes time and doesn’t seem “productive” in the modern sense.

But it IS productive in the sense that it’s where growth and mental development happen. When I’m pushing against a deadline, the only growth I’m accepting is what’s required for that particular task. And then it’s on to the next, and the next … no time to reflect. Especially when I fall into an exhausted heap at the end of the day.

My answer? Downtime. A place and time where I can ponder and reflect, without having any particular deadline or deliverable.

I had a startling chance to do this recently in a meeting with a fellow coach. We were learning a new facilitated technique called Rapid Rewire Method, and the exercise merely asked a couple of questions which helped to dig more and more deeply. Since I don’t easily reflect on emotions, this wasn’t super easy. But it got me into a deep reflection which actually yielded some surprising results.

Because I had a chance to step away from the pressure and just ruminate.

Today’s thoughts were inspired by my friend Ariana Friedlander in We’re Conditioned to be Reactive