The Good Kind
If you think a thing should exist, build it. Don't wait for permission. Don't wait for the perfect moment. Just start.
If you don't know how to do something, figure it out. The internet exists. People who've done it before exist. Books exist. You have no excuse.
Failed? No problem. Next idea. Failure isn't the opposite of success—it's part of it. Move on.
"I want to." That's the right energy. That's the fuel that sustains you through the hard parts.
Grabbing opportunities. When they appear, you take them. You don't overthink. You don't wait for a better one.
Can't stop learning. You're curious. You're hungry. You're always picking up something new.
The Bad Kind
Sleeplessness as a badge of honour. This isn't impressive. It's just self-destruction with better marketing.
Health and wellness put on hold. "I'll exercise when the project ships." No, you won't. And even if you do, the damage is done.
Friends and family put on hold. The work will always be there. The people won't.
Deadline bullies. Arbitrary urgency that serves no one except someone else's anxiety.
"I had to." No, you didn't. You chose to. Own it or change it.
Sacrificed hobbies and interests. You became one-dimensional. The creativity you needed dried up because you stopped feeding it.
Busy for the sake of being busy. Motion without progress. Activity without impact.
What I Used to Glorify
- 100-hour workweeks
- Packed schedules
- Fancy "stuff"
- "Sleep when I'm dead" mentality
What I Now Glorify
- Sleeping 8 hours
- Daily physical activity
- Unstructured time in my schedule
- Daily solitude
Freedom and control of your time is true wealth.
Not your salary. Not your title. Not the number of Slack messages you respond to.
The ability to decide how you spend your hours—that's the real flex.