A little awhile ago I wrote about the 80/20 rule as applied to personal happiness. To refresh, the 80/20 rule is an idea from personal productivity circles which hypothesizes that one can trace 80% of one’s results back to 20% of one’s actions. It offers the promise of finding one’s personal “sweet spot,” where you are most effective and (hopefully) happiest.
I love applying this idea to my life. I try to focus on things that bring me satisfaction, that are fun, that come easily and that unfold naturally. In the spirit of this, I’ve been looking recently on this blog at my marathon/life balance. It’s been an interesting process of self-discovery, and I am learning a lot in the search.
For one thing, I see indisputable proof of how well composing is working. Five months of daily composing don’t lie! Even with marathon training, and daily ups and downs of life, composing has gone without a hitch. To be a bit poetic about it, it feels like dancing with the angels, like swimming with the dolphins. Every day is a joyride. No matter the outcome, I feel like I am meditating on Infinity, dipping my fingers into a continuous pool of creative inspiration.
On the other hand, I still haven’t found a comfortable balance between marathon training and performing. While composing and running make excellent bedfellows (so do piano teaching and running), performing and running seem to compete for similar personal energy resources. For instance, lots of shows tend to happen on nights and weekends–exactly the times I am usually resting before or after long runs. I’m still finding my way with this. So far, I’ve been a bit slow in bringing my performance life back to pre-Pandemic levels.
That being said, overall I am loving the things I’m doing. Could it be that I am already finding my 80/20 sweet spot?