So little Dopamine, So little Time

‘Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal.’ ~ Elbert Hubbard

My understanding of this quote has changed for me out of necessity.

I always bought the idea that good things come to those who worked. I have always worked a lot. My husband, Bear, thinks I always work, because if I don’t have work to do, I make some.

There have been days when doing this has worked against me. These days would be the ones when I crossed an exhaustion barrier. An extreme example of one of those times is when I chose to return to work 18 days after a surgeon cut a 7 inch incision in my head to remove a brain tumor.

Those days aren’t long gone. They can’t be, because I can’t not be true to myself and I truly enjoy what I choose to do because I do many things enthusiastically for many people.

Consistently, however, my days go much, much better. I am not as physically exhausted or emotionally drained. This is because I navigate my goal every day around my dopamine. I consciously choose not to feel drawn toward too much too fast because I can’t afford to cross my boundaries. I have to respect my body’s physical and my mind’s emotional limitations. I have to manage my resources.

I can choose to wait to approach a situation later, or I can grant myself an allowance for living up to a reduced standard out of necessity because I am doing the best I can.

My world is a very healthy environment where I can choose to live in harmony with myself in a mindful way.
I like that very, very much!