We tend to strive for the other side of our achievements.
A clean in-box
An empty desk
The celebration after the speech
The exhale after the test
But then, we get there, to the other side, and after the euphoria subsides, we tend to resent the emptiness and crave the clutter again.
In other words, when we have stress, we seek relaxation, and when we have relaxation, we feel guilty about not having stress.
This means we’re always preparing for and searching for those few minutes of euphoria in our day, and everything before and after is unwanted, like a layover between flights. And the flights themselves.
Our cup is almost never perfectly full. It’s either overflowing or partially empty, and we need to remember that we’re not just the water; we’re the glass, and the air.
Life is happening in the layover, in the emptiness, and in the droplets on the table.