Transforming the Ordinary into Extraordinary

We’ve all been here: time-starved, stressed out and exhausted. Trying desperately to juggle ten balls in the air, while standing on one foot and blindfolded. It seems that with every passing year, these demands only increase. Everywhere you turn, people are under an inordinate amount of pressure to survive in the modern world.

The hyper-drive hamster wheel

Today we have non-stop information coming at us across a barely manageable number of social platforms. A daily stream of doomsday news with alarmist headlines designed to tap into our deepest fears, all in the name of generating more clicks. I’m as guilty as the next person of living on overdrive in this uber-connected world. It’s hard to imagine that once upon a time, not that long ago, the first thing I would do in the morning is turn on the light, take a few deep breaths, and then head to the kitchen for a quiet morning coffee and breakfast, eaten while reading the daily paper from cover to cover.

Such so-called leisure is almost unthinkable today. For most of us, the first waking moments are spent emerging from a coma-like state of exhaustion. Before the bedside lamp is even switched on, we have scanned the latest headlines on Feedly or Twitter, caught up on what happened with our friends while we were sleeping on Facebook/Instagram, responded to Whatsapp and SMS messages, and read through a few dozen emails in a futile effort to avoid surpassing the 200 unread mails mark before 8am. With synapses already on overdrive, we grab some breakfast on the run and race to the first of a non-stop series of meetings, calls, emails and requests for the next ten hours.

All too often we come home feeling stressed out and exhausted, too tired to see friends or engage in activities that might renew vital energy resources; be it exercise, meditation, cooking, or a dance class. We snap at our partner, who is also doing his or her best to survive the same heavy demands, then crack open a bag of Doritos to devour while watching four episodes of the latest series of choice on Netflix. (Or something like that…)

The infinite dilemma of head or heart

Admittedly, I am one of these digital adrenaline junkies. A part of me thrives on the sense of achievement that comes with sustaining the Ferrari pace. I get antsy when someone in front of me takes too long at the ATM machine or walks like a tortoise, blocking the fast lane on the sidewalk. My subconscious mantra is ‘Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go…and make sure not to miss a beat!’ I pride myself on being a top-notch multi-tasker, able to juggle a telephone call, SMS, and email response on three different subjects, all within a two-minute timeframe.

But deep down — in those wide awake, late-night moments of insomnia that inevitably accompany the life of an overachiever — I know this sprint-like marathon cannot continue without turning into a full-on, work-life balance train wreck. In an effort to bring back some sanity, I recently embarked on a mission to incorporate greater awareness into my daily work and life.

It seems I am not alone in this dilemma. When setting out on this journey, I came across countless books, blogs, TED Talks and other sources of guidance on the subject. Yet even here, many of the titles dominating best-seller lists seem to suggest the path to purpose is extreme life reinvention. Much as the notion of a five-step process to complete transformation appeals to the perfectionist in me, this is precisely the sort of “make it perfect” approach I am a trying to avoid here.

According to many of the stories I read, fulfillment comes from packing it all in and travelling to remote lands for a year or writing a book about an arduous pilgrimage or becoming a Buddhist monk. Much as I am fascinated by and admire the courage of people who make such dramatic turnarounds — from venture capitalist to yoga instructor or corporate lawyer to organic farmer — for the vast majority of us, extreme transformation isn’t really on the agenda.

This got me thinking about the extensive work of researcher, Brené Brown, on vulnerability and courage, who says:

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.”

Is there not a middle ground where each and every one of us can live our deeper purpose every day within the context of a relatively normal life? Can we create harmony between the benefits we cherish (such as owning a home, raising kids, counting on a regular paycheck) and the perceived limitations that stop us from chasing the big dream? And are these two worlds really mutually exclusive – or only for the privileged few?

Uncovering the extraordinary

It dawned on me one recent evening, as I struggled to fit in a workout, dinner preparation, bill paying, house tidying, cat feeding, emergency work emails and a few minutes of relaxation into my three precious hours of post-work evening time: we don’t all have to revolutionize the world to live a life of purpose. What if, instead, every one of us took small steps each day toward greater self-awareness, respect and compassion? Imagine a world where we all carved out a few minutes to celebrate the good instead of dwelling on the same old headline-grabbing atrocities?

Indeed, the extraordinary is all around us. Inspiration is at our fingertips, even more so in today’s connected world. When we hop off the hamster wheel, even for a minute every day, we can find joy, beauty and sparkle in everything from that morning coffee to the daily sunset — and maybe even the infernal laundry pile.

(Feature photo: Ryan McGuire / Gratisography)