Comments on: Inner Work: When Productivity is Counter-Productive

By: pnina

pnina — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:38:18 +0000

reading your words resonates in me deeply. I also feel the contrast between Consciousness and linking it to action.
It reflects the duality between body and soul.The soul knows but our personality needs time to translate it to action.
It takes time and patience and requires activating faith.Sometimes the gap is too huge to hold and it requires extension of our wholeness to contain such a gap.
Pnina -Israel

By: Cat Bennett

Cat Bennett — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:18:22 +0000

What a beautiful essay, Julie! So often we try to force when really we just need to flow. There’s really no need to hurry or force. As an artist, I can say that for me inspiration comes from the place of peace. And I totally agree that we can return to that place of peace through writing and making art! I also get the objectivity to see what’s going on inside too.
Thanks for this inspiration, Julie!

By: Julie Stiles

Julie Stiles — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:40:11 +0000

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I’ve enjoyed reading them, and I’m glad that the article sparked some thoughts for folks. I liked what Diana said about relearning how to relax and let something unfold. I think that’s so true, there probably was a time when I knew how to do that and can relearn it (though I don’t remember that time very clearly, having learned that I was supposed to be productive pretty early).

It also occurs to me that I don’t mind my wanting to be productive when I can tie it to a need, like how I want to contribute to others. What I do mind is when instead of coming from a need, the desire for productivity comes out of a “should,” an expectation of my own or from other people of how much I should be doing. When I connect to my own needs, then I can also connect to needs around not being productive, like needing to care for myself or needing some space to just be. In doing so, I can more easily see ways to find a balance between the two.

By: Ryan Hurd

Ryan Hurd — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:07:28 +0000

speaking for myself, this post comes at the perfect time. the holidays are a natural time to unwind and “incubate” thoughts and plans for the new year, but my inner critic often hijacks the process with thoughts about my lessened productivity. Bah humbug, in other words. So thanks Julie for this insightful article!

By: Diana

Diana — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:48:40 +0000

I often forget (even after 20+ years of analysis) that there is work going on under the surface. I have a hard time submitting to that. This post is timely for me. I had just realized this week that I am spinning my wheels and it was making me feel like a failure.

I need to relearn how to relax and let something unfold naturally. I guess my ego thinks it can do anything. Funny how untrue that is!

By: RoundSparrow

RoundSparrow — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:11:16 +0000

You quote Joseph Campbell on your dream page… so I’ll provide more of the quote related to what he was saying…

———-

The mind has to do with meaning. What’s the meaning of a flower? There’s a Zen story about a sermon of the Buddha in which he simply lifted a flower. There was only one man who gave him a sign with his eyes that he understood what was said. Now, the Buddha himself is called “the one thus come.” There’s no meaning. What’s the meaning of the universe? What’s the meaning of a flea? It’s just there. That’s it. And your own meaning is that you’re there. We’re so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget that the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it’s all about.

———-

Why is productivity itself something to be concerned with in your individual life? Is it about love and sharing or about yourself? You need leather seats in that car? Are you trapped in a society that is hell-bent on overproduction? If you haven’t seen this video, know what you are up against… it is being pushed on you and your friends constantly: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8953172273825999151#

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:32:23 +0000

So true… A speaker at a conference I was at recently made a great point: While we spend so much of our time “doing”, we also need to take time just to “be”. As Sinatra would say, dobedobedo….

By: Ryhen Satch

Ryhen Satch — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:45:47 +0000

A light but thought-provoking post you have here, Julie. Thanks for the great insight. Somehow, it reminds me of times when I had my own skirmish with lethargy.

“Sometimes when we feel tired and bored, an internal shift is going on under the surface.”

Aside from the fact that it was highlighted, this one struck me the most. I agree with you on this part. Perhaps the reason why we sometimes fail to express creativity (the very thing responsible for the manifestation of thought into material form), is that something is being changed in the metaprogramming part of our minds. The only problem is that we are not really sure how long it lasts. We can only wait for the inner mechanic to tell us that the job is done.