Taking a look at my life I recognize that everything I do, I do at a fevered pace. I have so much going on that I must do things at a fevered pace to keep up with it all. As such, I am very often quite frustrated and angry about running so hard just to keep up.

We have all crammed so much into our lives that the demands upon us, to many whom I speak, are completely overwhelming. However, no one feels like they can voice this for fear of others thinking them weak or unable to handle life.

Look, I can run hard. Well, not physically run hard, I mean metaphorically (I don’t run. Ever. If you see me running, you should run faster. Something very bad has happened). But I am at a dead run almost all of the time from a life standpoint and this is not healthy.

I have recently been asking myself, “where does all of this lead?” More work? More stuff? An early grave?

There are a lot of articles coming out right now about doing more with less. Minimizing which I have written about desiring here, doing less but gaining a higher level of quality. Letting myself enjoy the parts of life that are enjoyable.

We miss out on the valuable and memorable moments in life while we are working so hard at living it.

I think that there is something valuable here to mine.

Slow Down – I have to ask myself am I really getting more done, or just frantically running about? I would hazard to guess that it is the latter. I am actively doing a lot but not actually getting a lot done. I see a lot of partially completed projects in my life. A lot of things that I am trying to do simultaneously but not actually getting done. It all just becomes busy work.

Would I get more done by limiting the amount of things that I have in queue and truly getting things done. Probably at a quality level far beyond what I am producing today.

I am the master of “lots to do”, I need to become the ace of “things done” even at the expense of everything others want done. I venture I would be happier and others would not notice because they too are overly busy.

Hone Down – I am also the master of collecting stuff. I have a few hobbies that have consumed countless amounts of cash and have/and do occupy copious amounts of space. Much of which I need to relieve myself of. Hone down to a few things I really enjoy and just keep those things in top shape.

Much of this I have done to relieve the stress of moving too quickly, doing too much. I keep my mind active with the things I like to do to keep myself sane around all the things I am doing.

It is madness really, because it just adds to my need to slow down trying to find time to do the things I would like to do.

However, the flip side of this is that I think people need a hobby. Something to do in their leisure time, if they can find leisure time. My problem is that I have 3-4 of these, not just one. Now, the bikes and the writing are less of a hobby and more of a vocation. So it could be said that I truly only have one true “hobby”, but when added to my professional and vocational lives, even one more adds to the hectic nature of my life.

But these do give me joy and one day I will, God willing, retire. At that time I will have plenty of things to occupy my time.

Calm Down – Ok, let me shock you. With all of the above I can be an angry man. Easily frustrated and brimming over with the next thing to do, everything and everybody else just slows me down. That can’t be! I have too much to do! So anger is the outcome.

And at 6’6” this can be extremely intimidating to others. Something I do not like about myself.

I like the “Calm Down and Chive On” tag line. I tend to change it to “Calm Down and Ride On” or other “and” statements. But the concept is not lost on me.

I need to relax and the avenue to calming down is slowing down. It is hard to calm down when you are at a dead run all the time.

So how does one do this?

Well, I have begun to take stock of my day more and really do a bit more planning. Leaving time to for what is important over what is imminent. You see, we continually give our focus to what is immediately before us, not to what is truly important to us.

Selecting a manageable amount of things I can reasonably get done that day, truly completed and leaving openings for down time. Times to relax, become a bit reflective and open myself to changes in my day, my life.

This does not necessarily mean that I am letting things go, but I am working to put them in proper perspective. Doing less, but getting more done as it were. Focusing upon the important over the imminent.

I am working to live more purposefully. It is amazing how much we lose the purpose in life in the effort of living it at a break neck speed.