Does your life ever feel a bit like you’re running on a hamster wheel? No matter how far you dial up the pace, you can never outrun yourself or your responsibilities.
Instead, your thoughts and to-do list keep piling up behind you and all you can do is look at them from your wheel in a cage, wondering how you’ll ever catch up.
The good news is that you don’t have to be stuck on that wheel forever. There are ways to hop off safely— you just need to learn them and then apply what you learn to give yourself time to think.
This article explains how giving yourself time to think can be the best thing you do for yourself and your business. For personalised advice, contact our team at MindAbility today.
Are You Stuck On The Hamster Wheel?
As much as we wish we could be everything to everybody all of the time, the fact is that none of us are superheroes. Unfortunately, this also applies even if your young children tell you otherwise!
If you carry on in the vein of trying to do everything all at once, how will you ever get out of it? How will you ever achieve what you want to achieve?
The simple answer is that you won’t. Instead, you’ll find yourself on an endlessly turning hamster wheel, desperately running to keep up with yourself and attempting not to fall flat on your face.
You need to challenge yourself in order to be challenged and supported by somebody else. That person can help you be on your business.
Make the changes you need to make in order to be able to move forward— not around in circles on your hamster wheel.
Next time you see a hamster wheel, put yourself or somebody else in the hamster’s position. How will you, or they, ever get off?
If you’re not a physicist, like the majority of us aren’t (including myself), this may be a tricky question. Thankfully for us all, I outsourced the answer to this one! Essentially, a hamster running on a wheel creates kinetic energy. This then dissipates as heat and sound. As the energy dissipates, this means that the energy is essentially lost. It can’t be used for any practical purpose. That’s a lot of running for no end result.
Time To Get Off The Wheel
So how does the hamster get off the wheel?
It gets off by changing pace. It gets off by doing something different. If it doesn’t, it’s a one-way street to burnout town.
Think about the hamster wheel analogy when you feel yourself approaching burnout in your work. You can continue to run and run, losing precious energy and ultimately getting nowhere. Or, you can slow down, reducing your speed to a safe pace where you can either hop off for a break and let somebody else take over, or recoup your energy and keep going at a slower speed.
No More Excuses
It’s in your hands to make that change. Hiding behind the excuse of ‘I haven’t got time to think’ will only make the outcome worse with the more time that goes on.
Don’t think it’s an excuse?
It is. Trust me— I’ve been there. There’s no shame in having thought that way or currently thinking that way, as we all have to learn things in our own time and in our own ways. The thing you need to take away from it is that if that’s how you run your life and your hamster wheel, now’s the time to slow it down.
I don’t preach that I’m perfect. I still have to challenge myself week in and week out on this very topic, and it’s one I’ve been dealing with for many years. Don’t expect perfection from yourself right out of the gate, or even years down the line— it takes time to learn, which I know all too well! The important thing is that you understand and try.
Jump Off Your Hamster Wheel Today
Are the wheels in your mind turning? Good— that means you’ve given yourself some time to think! Now that you’re there, stay there. It may feel scary to begin with, but you’ve got this. When you’re ready, turn your attention to how you can use this to accelerate your business success without needing to further accelerate your pace on the wheel.
At MindAbility, we offer tailored business coaching, workshops, and events to help you grow and scale your HR business in the way you want. Ready to hop on over? We’re ready for you!
