Two Spirals

“We’ve become so used to the idea that the only reward for getting better is moving toward higher income and increased responsibilities that we forget that the fruits of pursuing quality can also be harvested in the form of a more sustainable lifestyle.” This quote from Cal Newport’s book, Slow Productivity, follows an anecdote about a freelance coder who lives a leisurely lifestyle with plenty of time to garden. At a certain point in his career, he saw a fork in the road—either he could scale his company and sell it off for millions after many years of hard work or he could stay small, increase his rate and reduce his hours in order to devote more time to the things he found most meaningful. He chose the second path. 

It strikes me that this story illustrates two spirals. In one, we use success to take on more and we live progressively more reactive lives, losing sight of what matters most. In the other spiral, we use success to slow down and open up more time and energy for the most important things.

This week, I invite you to ask:

Which spiral am I currently in? What things matter most to me? How might I leverage my successes to focus more on these things? 

God bless,
Dan