Challenging Newton

Isaac Newton’s first law of motion is about inertia. An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion until acted upon by an outside force.

I think about this often because I feel like I am the object. If I rest for too long, I find myself melting into it and can sometimes lose all motivation. Conversely, I often will work well past the point of burnout, unable to stop until the outside force of exhaustion hits me all at once. 

Recently, I’ve been trying to flex the pivot muscle, which is to say I’ve been trying to learn to toggle back and forth between my rest and my work. The hope is that this will help me rest before burnout. On the other hand, this should also serve as a reminder that I can bounce back from slumps. 

It’s an interesting thought exercise—this marriage of work and play. Perhaps the biggest takeaway I have is the intention it has brought to my days. The quiet noticing.

We cannot remain at rest in perpetuity just as we cannot live only in motion. But if we learn to listen, to follow our energy, and to make peace with our actions, we are setting ourselves up for a more fulfilled life.