Early in her career, Amanda Getz saw her relentless resolve as a “badge of honor.”
“I always took it as a sign of pride that I could push myself,” she says.
Goetz, 39, is a longtime marketing executive, two-time startup founder and creator of Life’s A Game, a popular newsletter that volunteers for multi-high pens.
During the pandemic, Getz pushed her career ambitions into high gear. She quit her job at a corporate world and built her second startup, the CBD-based product company House of Wise.
From the outside, Getz was thriving, but juggling all of her responsibilities without a break caused serious burnout, she says.
While procuring the capital for the House of Wise, Getz later went to the hospital twice in a week after learning he had a panic attack.
“You can handle a lot until your body says ‘no’,” she says.
It was a crucial moment for Getz. “I realized that I can get everything, not everything at once.
Find time for “active rest”
Getz describes her previous attitude towards work as “toxic grit,” and she defines it as “a fuss without intention.”
“Many of us are running towards these goals, especially as ambitious people, but there’s no checkpoint to understand whether that’s even what we want,” she says.
To handle her priorities, Goetz has developed a new strategy for “sustainable ambition.” Instead of working until she crashes, Goetz intentionally schedules periods of effort and rest.
“I realized I needed to reduce the intensity that was happening in my life before my body forced me to do that,” she says.
Finding balance is not necessarily a goal, according to Goetz. It is natural and often necessary to adjust priorities regarding big life events.
For example, Goetz is currently “hustling” before publishing her first book, “Toxic Grit: How To Beath To Beating You What You Have.” She will then be working at the backburner for several months to relax and spend time with her family.
“It’s about building a rhythm into a life of positive rest, not waiting until your body demands it,” she says.
Every few weeks, Goetz reassess what areas of her life she needs to invest more energy. She managed to schedule her own work and schedule a rest cycle at a 2:1 cadence.
“That could really mean I’m pushing my workplace for two weeks. And then for a week I take my foot off the pedal and now, I’m off every day at 5am. I’m going to close the computer and go see my friends,” she says.
These “naked minimum” periods allow her to create space for other important aspects of her life, she says.
“If I just want to call every shot to my ambitious side, I’ll always work,” she says. “But that’s not what I want in my life.”
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