“When there is no desire to satisfy yourself, there is no aggression or speed… Because there is no rush to achieve, you can afford to relax. Because you can afford to relax, you can afford to keep company with yourself, you can afford to make love with yourself, to be friends with yourself.”
Chögyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, via Sunbeams (Page 3)
Beyond the Quote (Day 372)
If you feel like you can’t afford to relax, you should reevaluate what it is exactly that you’re trying to afford. Hustle culture has us working from the minute we get up until the minute we go to bed—and leaves many of us feeling like we STILL didn’t do enough. We stress about the things we didn’t finish, the things we have yet to start, and how we’re going to close the gap between where we are and where we want to be—so that we can finally… relax.
That’s the goal, after all, isn’t it? To relax? I don’t think anybody’s goal is to hustle hard now so that they can hustle more later. The hustle is supposed to create a surplus that can be lived off of in a relaxing way—isn’t it so? But, why do we need a surplus to do something that is free? Something that is available to us right now? Hustle is not a means to relaxing; relaxing is the means to its own end.
Easier said than done when you have a mortgage to pay, right? And fair enough. But, here’s the thing: most everything worthwhile in life is easier said than done. But, when done it can yield exponential returns. If being able to afford to relax means downsizing, downgrading, minimizing, selling, sacrificing, reapplying—then maybe you should consider it. Because here’s the thing, you’re willing to kill yourself from work, working, and overworking? Maybe you should consider an alternative where you get to live with yourself from humbly balancing work, expenses, time on, and time off. Your choice—but, the days of your life are going to pass by either way.
In a Tweet:
Read Next: Ryan Holiday Quote on Time Commitments and Learning To Say “No” To Wasteful Uses of Time (Day 371)
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