Pause at the edges

Where do I notice the edge between comfort and challenge?

Once again, I've left an entire week pass. There has certainly been enough time to write an issue of Pause. So here I am, choosing finally to lean into the stress of needing to write this thing. The edge is really clear—has been clear at the countless moments when I've thought, "I should write."

I'm certain that forcing myself like this—right now in this moment—is not the right thing to do. And yet, every week, everything goes right down to the wire. Every day I do all that I can. And over time the amount I can do before I'm exhausted and burnt is less and less.

There is a place, right on the edge of your ability, where you learn best and fastest. It’s called the sweet spot.…The underlying pattern is the same: Seek out ways to stretch yourself. Play on the edges of your competence. As Albert Einstein said, “One must develop an instinct for what one can just barely achieve through one’s greatest efforts.”

The key word is ‘barely.’

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