No one is born with a glass ceiling, certainly no one who reads blogs written by a dentist!
We construct our glass ceilings as we travel, as we pass from infants to adults. We build barriers to seemingly protect us which ultimately imprison us. It seems, from here that two of the most important materials in construction of a glass ceiling are tiredness and stress.
One begets the other and each enhance their fellow. One of the favourite blogs I ever posted was DEFCON for dentists which describes my insight into my owns stress levels but my growing sense over the past several years is that tiredness is one of the most important things in my life. This myth that we can survive on minimal amounts of sleep and function to the highest of abilities is just that... a myth.
Stress will always exist because external forces play a part which are uncontrollable. The response to stress is utterly controllable but much less so for the exhausted.
There is fair clinical evidence to suggest that tiredness increases pain perception and certainly affects stress levels. In the end, tiredness and stress combined produce a thicker and thick glass ceiling which pushes you closer to the floor and ultimately affects your ability to be brilliant.
For me, tiredness does not affect my ability to train. only my ability to train well.
It does not affect my ability to work, only my ability to work to the best of my ability.
It doesn't affect my ability to be a parent, only my ability to be a patient parent.
Not my ability to be a husband, just my ability to be a selfless husband.
As always, insight is perhaps the first step to redemption. Here we go again!
Footnote: things which help me see through the glass ceiling for an instant to the other side where brilliance lies.
1. Quotes
2. Songs and lines in songs
3. Books
4. Movies (sometimes) Dallas Buyers Club is a perfect example
5. Photographs, particularly Stuart Reekie's
6. First hand stories of human inspiration
Send me yours
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