Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: What's Worthwhile Healing Mind, Body and Spirit? I'm Ramsey Zimmerman. I choose peace of mind, vitality of body, and joy of spirit over stress, exhaustion, or overwhelm. Together, let's explore and pursue the many ways to build holistic health and wellness.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Hey there, It's Ramsay here. It's that time of year again for boxes. Boxes being delivered, put under trees, recycled. Also the time of year when we tally up our accomplishments and see which boxes we've checked off this year's goals list. And yeah, we're furiously still shopping for boxes to order and boxes to cross off. You've still got some time, but here's a question that has been haunting me a bit this week. What if they are not the right boxes?
Were they the most important boxes? Or were they the brightest, flashiest objects? Or maybe the most obvious things to do? And will the people who count on us the most get what they want from our presence?
[00:01:19] Speaker B: My guest this week said something that really struck me, and it's been echoing.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: In my mind ever since.
He said that a lot of men hide in their work.
We hide in our productivity. We hide in our success. And we hide in the satisfaction of checking off those boxes. Because work gives us something so few other things do. Clear, measurable, unambiguous achievement.
Work is usually straightforward. Our workload tells us exactly what to do and then applauds us for doing it. Hopefully. Work doesn't really ask us to open up emotionally or ask us to be vulnerable. It doesn't usually ask us to confront what's uncomfortable.
And here's the part that really got me he said that because work gives us the easiest kind of success, many of us choose it over the harder, messier parts of our lives, like our health, our marriages, our kids, our identity, our purpose.
Those areas don't come with tidy checklists and quarterly dashboards.
They're not as quick to praise us or reward us. They ask for something more than productivity. They ask for presents.
And this time of year, boy, is that ironic. We're in box season.
Christmas presents, gift boxes, wrapping paper, all the rest of the and meanwhile, we're also looking back at the metaphorical boxes we've been checking all year long. What if checking the wrong boxes at work leads to putting the wrong boxes under the tree? And what if the people we love do not just want more stuff from us? What if the greatest present we could offer them is our presence? And maybe we can throw in the time element as another meaning, the present moment, the here and now. Because it's impossible to offer your presence to the people you love if you're not present in your own life. If your mind is always racing ahead to the next task, the next email, the next deadline, the next measure of your worth, then you're living everywhere except in the moment where your life is actually happening. Everywhere except where your people live. Everywhere except where love lives.
This is why what my guest shared rings so true with me. When we hide in the safety of workplace achievement, we're not just avoiding difficult feelings or hard conversations. We're avoiding the present moment. And if we're avoiding the present moment, we cannot offer presents. And if we're not offering presents, then all the presents in the world will not fill the gap left behind.
[00:04:04] Speaker B: Do you feel exhausted before your day even starts? Or do you struggle to balance balance demanding work and family with everything else? Do you wonder how to say no without guilt or set boundaries when everyone needs things from you? Does burnout feel inevitable no matter how hard you try to push through? Then check out my new book on Amazon, Stress Response. Manage your response to stress in order to reduce anxiety, Avoid burnout, and find calm and steady focus. Now available on Amazon.com Look, I get it.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: I do this too.
I've spent years chasing productivity, trying to make myself valuable by how much I produce or how hard I work. And yeah, there's goodness and purpose in working hard. There's real dignity in providing for our families. But if providing becomes the only thing we do, then something sacred goes missing, Something essential, Something irreplaceable. And maybe that is the deeper invitation this season.
Not to tally up our productivity, but to ask ourselves whether we have been present.
Not to worry about the wrong boxes under the tree, but to make sure we ourselves are not missing from the room. To check in on the people who need us, to notice their eyes, to listen a little longer, to show up without rushing. To be here, really here, not hiding behind the next task or the next burst of accomplishment. My guest this week said that many men never pause long enough to ask the deeper questions. What truly matters? What kind of person do I want to become?
What is worth my energy and attention? What actually makes life worthwhile?
Those questions can't be answered in a spreadsheet or written on a performance review. They can only be answered in the present moment, with presence offered freely and wholeheartedly. So as we move toward the end of the year, here's the question I want to leave you with today. What boxes are you checking? And are they the ones that really matter?
And for today, that is enough.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Looking for more? Visit whatsworthwhile.net to listen to podcast episodes, learn from books and articles, and live better by choosing healthy products and practices. I'm now offering services through Worthwhile Advisors for personal coaching, professional advising, speaking, and group facilitation. If you or your team are ready to reduce stress and anxiety, build vitality and momentum, and accomplish your goals without burning out, then please contact me, Ramsey Zimmerman, through the website or on social media like Instagram X or LinkedIn.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Thanks, Ra.
