Too Salty

Too Much Salt
Excess sodium in the blood is very serious and can lead to organ failure and death. The condition is called hypernatremia. People who have kidney failure or who are not getting sufficient water will have it. Symptoms usually are noticeable when severe. Symptoms may include: severe sweating, hypothermia, dizziness and lethargy. Danger can occur with too much sodium so too can danger occur with an overzealous amount of motivation. It’s not that complex to get overly excited about a new goal, a new class, a new relationship or even a new project; you start burning the midnight oil and then completely puke out a week or month later. When I think about the number of positions that I have had in my life, 31, I have had to get motivated and then settle into coast mode for survival.
Think about those crazy, exotic, irrational crash diets that you start only to fail a week later. It’s easy to get really enthusiastic about a new goal. It is sort of like a Kid on Halloween who eats a bit too much candy, there can be such a thing as too much motivation. My entire life has been about starting a marathon by sprinting like a demon on drugs the first mile. Call it that competitive spirit, call it spiritual awakening, call it just stupid I call it burning the candle at both ends. Take a walk down the self-help aisle of Barns and Noble and thousands of books get you pumped, revved, gunned, accelerated and ready to go make enormous life altering changes. Although this is a nice idea, it can easily lead to motivation burnout. For me it’s been ready, get set, disappointment. I view motivation globally as achieving as close to possible your life goals. From day one out of the gate it has been about viewing my habits and making small but measurable changes. Sometimes change has been monumental and painful and other times it has been incremental and effortless.
Thinking about the excessive sodium I think about the excessive speed at which I have attacked life and living. My motivation has been almost drug induced at times; my personality and zest to do and conquer can almost take on a speed freakish nature. I have taken 21 academic units and worked full-time while raising three children. I have lost 100 pounds in less than 185days. I have finished a finance exam while in active labor. I have run a five mile race while in active labor. I have broken both my arms trying to lift weights greater than my ability. I think you get the point! At some point my need for speed and prove that I am motivated has caused burnout.
I have come to the understanding that fundamentally I need to have more value for what constitutes meaning for me! Working hard had not worked for me, now I need to work passionately. Essentially it means arriving at a clear understanding of my values and sacrificing, surrendering or forfeiting only for ‘that’ which meets those values and tenets. Clarifying my values will need to come from personal reflection and deep self-analysis. It shall come from deconstruction of my past so that I am able to construct my future. No longer shall I operate on the tenets of motivation for motivation sake but fundamentally I will only become motivated for those things I deem valuable and serviceable to the ecclesiastical of Asher.