I’m Going To Bed Empty
I have two sons who are quite different. One of them moves at max effort in everything. The other paces himself and he doesn’t pay much attention to what others around him are doing. For my max effort son, what tends to happen is he gets tired more quickly and doesn’t always have the energy to finish with the same intensity. My “pacing” son works hard but in the race, he doesn’t care if people are passing. He is going to go at his pace. The funny thing is often, he catches up with the people who passed him because they got tired. Neither is a better approach. They are just different.
I look at them with interest and throw their approaches on to my own life. How am I living with regard to my dream and my business? Am I throwing myself all-in or am I pacing myself? In either case, what does that mean?
Let me add one more element to the thought. I’m at the age where I look around and people I went to high school with and even younger are having health issues. I had a friend tell me a story about someone, we both knew, who took a nap one weekend and just never woke up. I am now at the stage where I listen to what is said at funerals and wonder about the intention of the person. Did they live in a way that allowed them to know what was going to be said when they were no longer around?
I read a book by Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy called Living Forward. It spoke about creating the life you are living so you can intentionally create your legacy. Said another way, you can actually create your own eulogy. Morbid? Maybe, but not really. We make it morbid because many of us are scared of it. But, the end of life happens for all of us. It’s not something that planning and strategy can help you escape. It’s an inevitable must. It’s a ‘has-to-happen.’ Everyone is born and everyone dies. It’s not a debbie downer statement. It’s not negative. It’s not a dark cloud overhead. It’s a simple fact. This is the type of information you simply accept and choose to create something amazing with.
“Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive” — Elbert Hubbard
I look at life and realize that in many ways, I’ve been pacing myself. I’ve held back on fully expressing myself because I assume I’ll need my energy for tomorrow. I’ve held back from speaking because I was nervous about navigating the wrong way or being thought of differently. I’ve done things in the background because of the fear of being called out when I fail. And, I’ll bet I’m not by myself in all of this. Most of us do this. And, the truth is it holds us back. It holds us back from accomplishing greatness. It holds us back from having mind-blowing relationships and friendships. It holds us back from creating the amazing legacy we imagine.
So, what now? What do I need to do?
I need to go to bed empty. Imagine a bucket being poured out as you go through your day. You are not just pouring randomly. You are instead intentionally pouring, deciding to love fully, being kind at every opportunity, smiling incessantly, and giving without expectation. You are turning up the volume on what you do so you go to sleep knowing you gave it all you had. You gave it all in your business. You gave it all in your work. You gave it all in your relationships. You gave everything to making an impact SOMEWHERE! The challenge for some is we’re not sure where our SOMEWHERE is. Right now, today, it doesn’t matter. CHOOSE somewhere and go all in.
Like my “pace” son, focus on your journey and refuse to be swayed by what others are doing around you. But like my “max effort” son, give it everything you’ve got. Go all-in!
At the end of the day, will your bucket still have anything left in it or will you go to bed empty?
Today is Day 69 of a 12 Week Writing & Publishing Experiment.
