EVERYDAY MENTOR

Andrew Gray

Hello Reader

Welcome one and all. Thanks for being here for another edition of the Everyday Mentor Newsletter.

Especially warm welcome to all new subscribers who have joined over the past week. I'm so glad you're here!

I have another simple idea for your consideration today.

This one is vital for achieving the Inner-Life Health & Sustainability we all aspire to.

"The Fallacy of Non-Stop Growth"

If you're anything like me, you are probably sick and tired of the seemingly never ending messaging around growth and productivity.

It seems like everywhere you turn, especially online, there is another person ranting at you about how to do more, and earn more, and achieve more.

The truth is that the pseudo-gurus of personal growth, who shape their entire narrative around getting you to work harder, and do more, are selling a lie.

There is no such thing as 'non-stop growth'

Life is not just about doing and earning and achieving. Granted those things are part of life, but they are not the entirety of life.

Life is for enjoying. Life is also for going slow sometimes. Life is for wasting a day occasionally just because you can. Time is for spending and you can spend it however you want.

Imagine giving all of your days to growth, growth and more growth, only to realise that you never lived and enjoyed.

The most powerful metaphor we can look to in this regard is the high performance athlete. Better than most people, they understand what is required to extract every last 1% improvement from themselves to perform at their best. However, they also understand something that you will rarely hear from the preaching purveyors of permanent productivity. High performance athletes understand that a vital part of performance output, is recovery. Without rest and recovery, they know their bodies will be unable to perform at the highest level.

Roger Federer, arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, often gloried in his admission that throughout his professional career, he tried to get 12 hours sleep per day so that his body would be capable of short bursts of peak performance. And that's without taking into account the nutrition, massage, stretching etc etc required to perform at the highest level.

In proven high performers such as this, we see a prototype worth following.

I urge you to steer clear of voices that only ever champion productivity and growth all day every day. They are devoid of any true wisdom that can result in your best outcome.

The truth is; We need rest. We need recovery. We need light and shade.

I want to hear from you!

Do you struggle to rest? Are you constantly searching for the next growth hack to make more progress in life? Have you forgotten what it feels like to pass time enjoying simple pleasures without the urge to be productive?

Until next Tuesday, have a great week!