When should you be satisfied?
Finding the fine line between pushing it enough and too much
I have this deep drive to always push further — be more, be better, always improve. It’s a great trait, if “controlled”. Let me explain. These are three things that are important to me:
Fitness
I’ve really gotten into endurance sports, I like both the physical as well as the mental aspects of it. Nowadays, I pretty much choose the next challenge before I’ve completed the challenge I’m currently training for. And this is great, nothing wrong(I think) with that — I think that’s what we should do in order to grow.
Work
When running a business, the goal is to want the business to grow. But when you run a business where you’re mainly selling your time, there’s a limit to how much you can grow without hiring anyone.
I make more than I would in a “normal” job. I can work when and where I want. I recently moved to a warmer country for a while to work from there. Isn’t that the dream? Some weeks, I might easily work 12–15 hours per day in order to get something done. Then comes a day when my schedule is almost empty, where I should, and try to, rest — but immediately I feel anxious because “I should work on getting more clients or developing something” or “I should do something productive”.
So I’m currently living a dream, working when and where I want with something I like. That’s most people’s goal in life. It was mine as well. Or still is. But then again, I want more: expand my business, start another business, etc. I’m not sure if it’s because I think I will make more money, and that will make me happier, or if I just want to develop myself by taking on new challenges. If it isn’t the latter, it might actually just end up causing more stress and making me miserable.
Relationships
The two previous points give you an idea of my mindset. Now take that mindset and apply it to a relationship. It’s a disaster. I’ve dated a lot of women, but I always seem to end up thinking “don’t settle for this one, there are better ones out there”. Sometimes, this is great — you shouldn’t settle for someone and be unhappy in a relationship just to be in a relationship. But sometimes, I wonder if this “be better” mindset is the cause. Social media and dating apps are also partly to blame, it’s so easy to see “what’s out there” — and of course, we think that they’re all so great and into us, when that simply isn’t true.
Those were just three things, there are more. As mentioned, wanting to grow is great and we should all strive to be better. But there’s a fine line there somewhere, that I haven’t found yet. You can’t keep pushing 110%, 24/7 in all areas of your life at the same time. Sometimes you need to be happy and appreciate where you’re currently at, and pick one thing to focus on improving — not five.
