Two Lumberjacks
Have you heard of the story of the two lumberjacks?
There once were two lumberjacks who decided to have a little competition to see who could cut the most wood in a day. They rolled up their sleeves and started hacking away at the trees.
Dude A kept going strong, chopping and chopping, all the way til sunset.
Dude B started strong, but every once in a while walked away, disappearing for 15 minutes at a time after every hour.
Dude A thought, "Bro, your loss!" and kept swinging his ax.
Dude B did this throughout the day, disappearing for a total of 3 hours.
At sunset, they piled their wood blocks to settle the match.
(By this point in your life, y'all you would have heard enough stories to know that Dude B won.)
"What the hell!" stated Dude A. "You must have cheated! How is this possible that you cut more than me? You weren't even around for a fourth of the time!"
"Cheated? No. All we decided on was who would cut down more wood. I used the same ax as you have, bro."
"Then how did this happen?"
"I took a break. The breeze was nice today!"
"???"
"Yeah, it was such a gorgeous day, that I wanted to just chill and take in the view. I let my body rest, stretched, and sharpened my ax." Dude B pulled out a polished stone from his pocket.
Sharpen Your Knife
Moral of the story? Resting is NOT slacking off. It's refusing to work harder than you need to - taking the simpler, easier, more enjoyable route. It's rebelling against society's pressure to believe, "I am what I DO."
Resting is NOT a sign of laziness. It's also not a sign of incompetency or worthlessness. Rather, it's the opposite.
Knowledge says, "If I keep working the whole time without stopping, I'll get more done."
Wisdom says, "If I'm in my peak condition, my element, everything would just FLOW. I'll get more done, even with less work."
Even in your kitchen, if you use a dull knife, you are more likely to:
Exert far more effort than using a sharpened knife
Have sloppier results
Hurt yourself
If you've been frustrated with yourself because you're struggling with procrastination, perfectionism, overwhelm, etc., I get it. My Enneagram self-preservation 4 autopilot prompts me to keep pushing the daily grind until I wear myself out and shut down.
I've learned the hard way that growth, progress, and productivity isn't linear. More time, more money, more effort does NOT always win out.
...not that growth, progress, or productivity is the point.
Like Dude B, you can take a break, catch a breath, and enjoy the scenery. That he was also productive was BONUS, but not the point.
Dude B was a winner, and not because he chopped more wood. He was a winner because he had a great time. He ENJOYED life.
What's the state of your knife or ax?
Are you in a FLOW state, where things feel like you're cutting butter?
Or a FRUSTRATED state, where everything feels so damn difficult and annoying?
If it's been a while since you've taken a breather, now's your chance. It doesn't even have to be long or complicated.
Put the ax down.
Rest your feet.
Stretch your arms.
Take in the view.
Sharpen your ax - let your mind, body, and heart be focused.
Want some ideas to help you hone your senses? Here are some options:
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© Copyright 2023 Joanne B. Kim. All rights reserved.
JOANNE B. KIM, LMFT
Joanne is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and Certified Brainspotting Practitioner in San Jose, CA. She helps people EXHAUSTED by anxiety, shame, and an allergic reaction to anger create VIBRANT relationships where they matter, too.
Many of her clients are:
(1) the highly responsible, conscientious, and empathic types
(2) Enneagram Type Ones, Twos, Fours, or Nines
(3) Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs)
The most common words spoken by those who’ve sat with Joanne:
“I thought it was just me. I’m NOT crazy!”
“I can finally figure out what to do with all these feelings!”
I was a panelist at the EnneaSummit 2024 for the Enneagram Practitioner Panel.
In this panel, we share our experiences and observations about what different Enneagram types think they need in therapy, what they actually need, and some important growth steps so they can grow beyond their type.