Addicted to urgency
It’s referred to as firefighting.
The exhausting exhilaration of handling problems…Now! Now! Now!
An affinity for these adrenaline-rushed results is what keeps us addicted to urgency.
Detoxing from this reactive mode requires commitment and discipline.
When I was young, we had a recurring problem in our yard…
Dandelions.
My dad handed my brother and I a wooden tool with a long metal prong, a stack of grocery bags, and orders to, “Get all the roots.”
While digging up our dandelions one root at a time, I silently envied our neighbor mowing his down one row at a time.
This experience became an annual event.
Over time, our work got easier and went faster. Eventually...our tedious efforts were no longer required. We had broken the cycle of our problem.
Just over the hedge, our neighbor was still stuck mowing down his dandelions one row at a time.
What seemed efficient in the short-term wasn’t effective in the long-run.
Perhaps it’s time to stop mowing down your problems and start digging up what’s causing them.
Name the recurring problem/challenge/frustration in your work, or personal life. Do the intentional work of resolving the root cause instead of fighting the symptoms.
Trade in your short-term fix for a long-term resolution.