Productivity - The Pain & Pressure Connection

As someone who has experienced a considerable amount of pain that was a result of pressure put on me (in my case, violin performance), I have a definite opinion around pressure and pain.

Let's just roughly define it as the Pressure Point (PP). The PP can occur with anyone, but is most likely to afflict those of us who are high-productivity individuals. Similar to a manufacturing plant, we measure our value by our output. Only problem is, we are PEOPLE. So we are inherently valuable, outside of the need to perform. But still, we do.

I have found the PP to be a high-level pain producer. And the bad news is, I create PPs for myself. Because I just WANT to do something, I do it, regardless of the impact. (This is a picture of me performing in 2000.)

The problem with the PP is two-fold. One is that it leads to pain creation because stress or injury exacerbates pain. Two, is that it leads to pain ignoring, because we just don't want to awknowledge the pain. So in this cycle we are unable to fix the pain because we refuse to acknowledge it, because we don't want to stop doing what we want to do.

The way to break this cycle is to become a cat. Yes, my cat. To realize that value is inherent in each of us (aka main premise #4 - YOU are worth it) and that we do not NEED to live with continual PPs.

Now the caveat to this is if we are caretaker for another, than the Pressure Point is not a choice. But still, do we have choices? I believe we do. The devaluation of ourselves vs. another is not a necessary factor. We may be caretakers, but in that caretaking, it is the ignoring of our OWN needs that leads to the PP - and therefore the increased pain.

Valuing ourselves first is central to pain-filled individuals. It is perhaps the hardest thing we will do, but is the #1 way to start treating the pain cycle. After all, if there is anything we can ever DO to treat the pain, we must first value ourselves enough to take the steps to put that plan into motion.

So back to the cat. (This happens to be my cat, Skertzo, when he was a kitten.)

Cats are valuable simply because they sit & purr & do nothing. We adore them for this. Their prime function in life is to - be adored. For this they seem to be created. Do we fault them for this? No, we love it!

Today's challenge is to become a cat. Learn to shift your value structure so that you are a human BEING, not a human DOING. Reflect on the loveability of this pet who just makes everyone happy because it purrs.

Suggested practice for this technique:

1. Sit on the couch or on your bed.
2. Inhale deeply.
3. Think of your favorite experience with a cat. Or sit with your cat!
4. Imagine petting the cat & it's happy response. To being petted, scratched, rubbed.
5. Imagine the cat sleeping in the sun.
6. Think that the only value this cat really brings is probably in its mousing (ugh) & tranquility. Yes, we're after the tranquility factor.
7. Realize that you are infinitely more loveable than a cat.
8. Think about creating "cat-time" each day where you can just sit around & purr.
9. Shift your focus back to production and notice how stressed out you get just thinking about all these things you should be doing.
10. Go back to "cat" mode & see how relaxed you are.
11. Check your pain levels when in "cat" mode.
12. When you feel you SHOULD produce, think of what your cat would do. He would go do whatever needs to be done (taking care of business, etc) & then go BACK into purr-mode...

I find that the more I try to become feline & tranquil in my behavior, the deeper I breathe (increasing O2), the more my body relaxes, and the less pain I feel.

Give it a try. Let me know what you think...