When did society decide that rest was lazy, unattractive and even excessively indulgent?
I remember working in the corporate world (pre-kid) that the word "stressed" was almost worn as a badge of honor. It made me feel important - to have so many things on my plate that it was impossible to get them all done on time.
That was back in the day when I was trying to prove myself to others. When I worried that my productivity wasn't high enough, so I took on more work, skipped lunches, and worked late nights.
Early burnout
Luckily, that didn't last long for me. I was burned out in two quick years and decided to change course career-wise. Thinking I would be smart, I switched from the corporate world to the service industry of health and well-being.
But the idea of stress even followed me there. As a private business owner in the world of massage, I was always building my business, increasing my client base, working evening hours, and so on.
Then as a parent, stress came naturally. Life was busy with a small child, and continued as he got older. Worries about crossing the street safely, turned to worries about keeping up on homework assignments, to worries about being a new driver, to worries about getting into college. The stress was always there, it just changed shape over the years.
Part of modern life
I used to think stress was a necessary part of being a productive member of society. But more recently, I am starting to wonder if that was just another way I've been conditioned to think that isn't necessarily true.
What if stress isn't the only motivating factor in a good life? What if I let go of stress as the indicator of a productive meaningful life? What would be my new measuring stick? Do I even need a measuring stick? What if I decided that my life is good and meaningful just because....?
