I was a mess.
Groggy and incoherent, I stumbled out of bed at the sound of my alarm.
Immediately, I was greeted by two things. Intense discomfort in my gut. And a smartwatch alert about heart rate dipping below 40 beats per minute while I slept.
These two notifications — one biological, one technological — had a common thread.
Both showed that my body was still working, even as I lay unconscious in slumber. In fact, it was chugging along less efficiently than it should have been.
Yes, the pause I experience while recharging — it’s far from a complete one. Even while at rest, the wheels keep turning.
Look at a run-of-the-mill office suite around 10 PM on a weeknight, and it might seem like a ghost town.
Overhead lights off. Workstations powered down. The sound of silence resonating.
Business is on hibernation until the following day. But make no mistake, work is still going on.
Servers are storing the company’s files. Security programs are keeping business assets safe. And software is queueing after-hours transactions.
Even in the dead of night, the wheels keep turning.
No, the business world is not set up to stop and start on a dime. It’s more akin to a freight train — one full of inertia that can only be sped up or slowed down.
Our bodies have similar traits. This is what makes the words Cardiac Arrest so devastating.
And yet, we’ve been tempted to pull the emergency brake on this centrifugal force. For decades, there’s been talk of cryogenically freezing ourselves. And much of our economy recently did get shut down, as we reckoned with a deadly pandemic.
The thinking behind the shutdown was straightforward. A virus was blossoming; restricting interpersonal contact was thought to be the best way to stop its spread. And with most people holed up in their homes, business as we knew it needed to take a break.
This philosophy is what led to the eeriness of silent city streets and darkened storefronts. It’s what spurred the rallying cry We’re all in this together as we waited for the storm to pass.
But lost in that gesture of goodwill was a disturbing fact. We were more resilient than the corporate ecosystem we were abandoning.
While major companies had prepared for oodles of contingency plans, a complete shutdown was not one of them. For in the ranks of industry, such a move is tantamount to a death blow.
As the once unthinkable became a reality, our economy cratered. Millions were laid off from their jobs. Supply chains seized up. And many suffered.
Fortunately, we got the economy humming again. As the stay-at-home orders lifted and remote work blossomed, people got back to work, and the business boomed. But scar tissue from the ordeal has caused lingering issues — including supply chain disruptions and skyrocketing inflation.
It might be a while before things are back on the rails again. And until we reach that point, we’ll keep suffering the consequences of our recent economic catastrophe.
You need a vacation.
I’ve heard this advice time and again.
For I go hard at everything. Whether it’s work, exercise, cooking, or writing — I approach what’s on my schedule with meticulous focus and high intensity.
Those around me worry that I’ll burn up or burn out. So, they implore me to clear my schedule, hop on a cruise ship, or park myself at a faraway beach. I’ll return rejuvenated, they say.
I doubt it.
For I know my abilities and my inabilities. Powering down will only fill me with anxiety. And I’ll feel disoriented, rather than refreshed, upon my return.
So, I politely decline the calls for an extended vacation. I maintain my high-octane lifestyle.
Yes, I recognize that my own wheels must keep turning. Maybe not at warp speed all the time, but at least enough to maintain intertia.
Many of us share this sentiment, whether we’re acutely aware of it or not. It’s why we talk about needing a vacation from our vacation, or to stay in sync.
Idle hands are truly the devil’s handiwork. We need those wheels to keep turning.
The great reset.
This is a phrase I’ve heard bandied about in recent months.
As we emerge from a tumultuous time in our collective existence, we are tempted to take stock of our own lives. We yearn to change course and find meaning in what we do.
Such sentiments can be useful. But we’ve been robbing banks all these years, it might not be the best idea to make a clean break with the past.
For while our old habits and routines might no longer be our cup of tea, they did get us to this point. All that we learned along the way — it’s far from worthless.
Far better to incorporate such experience into our future than to bury it with our past. We’ll be stronger and more resilient for it.
I’ve seen this firsthand.
There are plenty of opportunities I’ve seized well into adulthood. New hobbies have found their way into my life. Healthier habits have sunk in. And a renewed sense of purpose has pervaded my life.
These developments are a blessing, and I’m filled with gratitude for them. But sometimes, I lament all the wasted years that have preceded my good fortune.
I think back to the days when I would stay out at the bar until closing time, downing cheap drinks with my friends, and complaining about my job. I recall the days when I scrolled endlessly through social media because I had no other vessel for my free time. I reminisce on that feeling that I was stuck in neutral, living month-to-month with no sense of greater direction.
I’m not proud of this version of myself, and I often wish the contemporary edition was around back then. But such desires are a fool’s errand.
If anything, I should give my past self a modicum of credit. For even in the depth of my doldrums, my wheels kept turning.
Yes, I might have yearned for a solution on a silver platter. But I kept doing the little things to help seize that platter if it came about.
This mindset is what laid the groundwork for the more bountiful future I would ultimately build for myself. My prosperity is not the dividend of a reset. It’s the culmination of all I’ve encountered on life’s journey to date.
So, let’s turn away from this discussion of pauses and resets. A better future is certainly worth pursuing. But we’re more likely to reach it with the help of our own inertia.
In good times and bad, through challenges and triumphs, let’s make sure those wheels keep turning.