Welcome.
Thank you for allowing me to participate with you in your journey to internalize the concept of undoing productivity guilt.
Make yourself comfortable by sitting still or laying down.
Close your eyes.
Allow the muscles in your face,
Your neck,
And your shoulders to fall.
Help relax your body and mind by just listening to your breathing.
Breathe very deeply and very slowly.
Quiet your mind of any questions,
Responsibilities,
Thoughts,
And desires by just breathing deeply,
By staying relaxed and still.
Take a moment and appreciate yourself for making the time to listen to this meditation.
Take a deep breath in and out.
Let's begin.
Undoing productivity guilt.
In other words,
Is letting go of the feeling like you're never doing enough.
If you're an overachiever,
A perfectionist,
Or someone who's decided to intensely focus on achieving success,
Then your task performance is probably good.
But you may feel like your efforts are not enough.
And no matter how hard you try to push the needle,
Or no matter how many hours that you put in a week,
If it still feels like it's never enough,
Then it's this feeling that may have temporarily imbalanced you.
Take a slow deep breath in and out.
You may know you are not alone in this.
Some people have bought into the illusion that fulfillment comes from outside of ourselves.
Meaning,
They unconsciously make their life's fulfillment dependent only on when the results come in,
Or the quality of the metrics,
Or test scores,
Bonus payouts,
Star ratings,
Social media followings,
Or getting their commission,
Or focusing on adding an extra zero to their salary too obsessively and for too long,
And at the cost of their fulfillment.
Take a slow deep breath in and out.
It's easy to understand intellectually that the results that tend to come after productivity guilt can never replace the quality of your physical and mental health,
And your relationships with others you care for.
But it's another thing to understand it emotionally.
For many people,
There may be a common theme.
Many people start out pursuing success by working very hard for so long and absorbing enormous levels of stress for decades.
I suspect that this pursuit over time became their identity because they were rewarded externally for it with money,
Or fame,
Or accolades.
It's a negative addiction,
Which is why when they achieved the level of success they wanted,
They kept on pushing harder and harder,
Past a tipping point,
Causing them to neglect their physical body,
To neglect their mental health,
And to neglect their loving relationships until they became depressed,
Estranged,
Sick,
Or worse.
These are the stories of productivity guilt among celebrities and the financially super rich,
Or some.
Take a deep breath in and out.
On the other hand,
Some people have nothing and yet they thrive on moments of fulfillment.
They may be homeless,
Underprivileged,
Or physically unwell,
But their high level of fulfillment is reflexive.
It's a positive addiction that has made them who they are.
Take a slow deep breath in and out.
Here's a true story.
I went to Ecuador to help build a school for kids living near the Amazon River.
When I got there,
I expected to see an ocean of pain whenever I looked into the eyes of these kids,
But I was inspired to see that all I saw was gratitude.
These kids didn't even own a pair of shoes or socks,
And yet they were always smiling.
Some of them had to clear their garbage by burning their waste in their own backyards,
But yet they were joyful.
Day after day,
I laid bricks.
I thought,
The more bricks I laid,
The better a volunteer I was,
And therefore,
There could be no limit as to how many bricks I could lay,
Never pausing to reflect on the value of my contribution,
And how good it made me feel to celebrate before the job was done.
I felt more stressed and guilty for not working hard enough than to just be happy to be there.
Every time I turned around,
There were kids playing,
And one day,
I stopped laying bricks,
And instead,
I played with them.
None of these kids spoke English,
But all of them seemed fluent in the art of fulfillment to me.
It wasn't until they kept smiling at me as we played together that I realized that they celebrate the process of their efforts,
Not solely the result of their efforts like I did.
That was the difference between us.
Take a slow deep breath in and out.
The ultimate cure-all is to train yourself to unconsciously strive for maximum fulfillment,
Which starts by number one.
Honestly answering an unusual,
Comfortable question.
Number two.
Practicing pattern-breaking actions each day.
Number three.
Celebrating immediately when actions of contribution are taken.
Take a slow breath in and out.
For example,
As soon as you wake up each morning,
Make this your daily ritual.
Please practice this with me now.
Number one.
Ask yourself,
What if instead of achieving to be happy,
I happily achieved?
Number two.
Think about who you love and who loves you.
Number three.
Do or think about what makes you happy as intensely as possible.
Take a slow deep breath in and out.
Please repeat after me.
I am in control of what I feel.
I am in control of what things mean to me.
I operate from fulfillment first.
Take a deep breath in and out.
Here are some final insights to remember.
Don't forget to focus on what truly matters by asking yourself what you are grateful for.
Your health and your time are your most important assets.
Don't become the richest person in the graveyard.
And finally,
Success without fulfillment is failure.
Take a slow deep breath in and out.
Please take a moment to appreciate and thank yourself for the discipline you've shown throughout this meditation.
Take all the time you need to just breathe and remember you can return to this meditation whenever you please.
Remember that the more you practice this meditation,
The faster and easier it will work for you.
Thank you for taking the time to begin to internalize the concept of undoing productivity guilt.
And when you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes and let me leave you with these words.
It's a great day to be alive.
