I was having this amazing conversation with a CEO from San Francisco, and we were talking about what group of his clients would be the right audience for one of my talks.

And he asked me:

“What about those people who don’t realize that all of their energy is already spoken for?”

And I think the reason is very simple.

They’re still getting everything done.

Everything got done. You had an amazing, productive day.

So what is remaining of you now, the actual you, after it was all done?

We use doing as proof that we still have margin.

We maintain life. We are productive. We do everything we need to do on our to-do list. We keep up with everybody else.

And then we say:

“Well, I’m doing all this, so surely I’m doing really well.”

Yeah, but just because you’re doing all these things and getting everything done, it doesn’t tell you what remains after that.

And, you know, what remains after that, that’s what people are actually looking for.

MARGIN.

The aliveness. The preference. The things you want to do simply because you want to do them. The extra energy that is not the energy you’re using just to maintain life.

So the more useful question is:

After you did everything you had to do, is there anything left for your actual life?

Did you feel like learning something, playing, or doing something simply because you wanted to?

You can have energy for every obligation but none left for your life.

Those are not the same thing.

Proprietary Framework Notice
The frameworks, terms, conceptual models, and component taxonomies referenced in this article are proprietary to Helena Bianchi, Vitality Systems Architect. They may not be reproduced, adapted, taught, embedded into programs or services, or used to create derivative materials without prior written permission..