If you really want to work, stop working.

If the title sounded fun, read the context.

I was on my usual reading binge with my first cup of coffee at 6 am in the morning. This time is where my process kicks in and I set myself up for the day.

Now you are probably imagining me waking up at 6 am, immediately being on the clock. Spending every minute being super productive ( I said it cos that is usually how these posts go) but NO.

That isn't me, my process is to collect my thoughts with my cup of coffee and the first cigarette of the day (not proud of it) and read things that add value to my being and ones which help me put things back into perspective.

So getting back to it, I was on my morning reading binge when I came across a post about Steve Martin, of the Pink Panther Movies fame.

The post read something like this, “At the time of this writing, I have not worked in a movie for three years. During these years, in which I vowed to do nothing and leave myself alone about it, I accidentally produced several plays, a handful of sketches, two screenplays, and a reorganization of my entire self. The pieces in this book, these essays — I’m not sure what to call them — are little candy kisses, after dinner mints to the big meal of literature, but to me they represent something very special. They are the offspring of an intense retrospection that enabled me to get back in contact with my work, to receive pleasure from my work, and to bring joy to my work. They also enabled me to repeat the phrase “my work” three times in one sentence, which brought me a lot of joy, pleasure, and contact. I suppose what I’m saying is, if you really want to work, stop working.”

This originally featured in a Medium article about forcing ideas by Dan Penderson

It struck me as to how in such a simple way, Steve Martin described how I had been living all these years.

I hadn’t realized it, but the more I was trying to chase after things and get work done, the more it wasn’t happening for me.

My work was more or less fuelled by what was working for others. I thought if it worked for someone else, it will work for me as well and I had to join the race.

My days were usually packed with figuring out what is working and making sure I do absolutely everything that needs to be done.

Here is what had happend and what I learned from the school of hard knocks.

I ended up comparing myself to others and thought I wasn’t capable.

I had tried absolutely everything and achieved absolutely nothing.

Me trying too hard lead to a host of mental and physical health issues.

I had stopped enjoying my work, I would constantly feel I haven’t done anything all day and would question everything including my existence.

And then I just gave up. I said Fuck It, what has to happen will happen.

When I did become mindful of this, it became effortless, I didn’t try to chase after anything. I actually started to get a lot more done and because of the quality of work I was doing, I started to get a lot more clients as well.

I started doing a lot less and in turn, started getting a lot more satisfaction and money.

Now every time I work, I activate a core, and everything I create comes from that core and it something different because I have created it. I have enjoyed doing the work. I am not tired and sickly and definitely not frustrated.

When you do create from the core, You tap into all the knowledge that you have gathered through education and experience and give the world what your idea about it is, not what the perceived idea of society is.

If you are someone like me, who has been struggling with the same mindset whether you are an entrepreneur or a working professional, try this. I still have my demons and I slay them every day, but I do get a lot more done now.

So basically as Steve Martin said, If you really want to work, stop working.