“So much attention is paid to the aggressive sins, such as violence and cruelty and greed with all their tragic effects, that too little attention is paid to the passive sins, such as apathy and laziness, which in the long run can have a more devastating effect.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt

During the past few months my productivity has been on point. I was consistently waking up at 6am to write, exercise and be productive. I eventually ended up switching my schedule to wake up at 4:30am to be even more productive. By 9am I had accomplished more than most people did in their entire day.

The past couple of days have been the complete opposite of this productive behavior. In fact, yesterday all I recall doing is eating and sleeping. Nearly 16 hours of sleep to be exact. Seems like I have my wires crossed. Thinking back on this I can’t help but feel guilty because I know there are so many extraordinary things I could be doing. None of which involve sleeping more.

The Extra Tiredness

I’m not the type to bask in guilt for too long. I like to get to the bottom of why things happen, and to uncover who I’ve been being in order to have taken the specific actions that I did. Was I overworked? Sick? Malnourished? This covers the physical reasons, but could there also have been psychological ones? Could it be that I was depressed, making my mind think about tiredness, frustrated about something, or around negative people? These could all be reasons for tiredness.

As I’m writing this article I think the issue is a combination of several factors, with one main factor domineering over the rest. I can’t remember the last day I’ve had the right amount of water. When I don’t get the right amount of water my body feels like a car that ran out of oil. Sluggish, clunky, and overheating. I haven’t been eating as many greens or fruits either.

The Impact

The impact of falling off the productivity train has both a positive and negative affect on us. In one sense it caused a breakdown of my body and my routine. In another sense it gave me the opportunity to think about the real issue and have the chance to correct it.

Since life is really a huge collection of habits and routines, whether in our actions or thoughts, it’s always good to see where we stand in our progress and what we’re actually doing. My goal is to build as many health habits as I can so that I can live a longer and healthier life and enjoy the greatest vitality and vigor that I can. With this energy I plan to motivate and inspire the people around me into taking action and being happy.

The impact of not being healthy and productive, for me, is to lose this ability with other people. If I do not have the energy to lead by example and stay productive than I do not consider myself a great role model. Due to these rules and limitations that I put on myself I do not feel awesome unless I am being and acting in this certain way. The divide between being and action is what destroys us.

If I’m being Alex The Sloth and getting nothing done instead of being Alex from AlexShalman.COM then my world is turned upside down. My body says one thing while my brain says the other. Like turning the wheel left and the car going right.

Have The Train And Eat It Too

“Everything in moderation — including moderation.”
~Harvey Steiman

Experiencing every carnal pleasure in excess would not be very satisfying. There just isn’t enough time to have those experiences in such great quantity while doing other things that we need for fulfillment. Besides you oversaturate your pleasure receptors and do not get the same amount of pleasure from repeatedly doing the same thing over and over again.

It’s interesting to note that you can’t be a great humanitarian and change the world if all you do is stay in bed, eat chocolate, have sex and sleep all day long. There is a disconnect between what you are doing and who you want to be.

On the other hand, you can’t work 90 hour weeks, neglect your friends, family, health and spiritual needs and consider yourself a great success. You might have traded in enough of your time for money, but the quality of your life is going to suck.

You can choose your actions but you can’t always choose the consequences of your actions. The law of gravity states that everything that comes up must come down. If you’re jumping off a bridge be prepared for the fall. If you’re going to eat that whole train cake, you’re going to get a stomach ache.

However, in moderation and balance we are capable of so much more. By aligning all the pillars of our life and giving them their due attention we are able to synergize our lives and propel ourselves to the top.

Next Action

One of the biggest take home lessons from this article is to constantly evaluate our progress. Which areas of our lives are lagging behind the rest? What can we do to live the best life possible? Let us know in the comments what’s lagging and how you can improve it. I’ll start.

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Photos by woodleywonderworks and lady-bug