20th July 2025
Someone recently shared this with me: “I have this productivity anxiety
that everyone else is working harder than me and I’am going to be left behind because I’am not working fast enough,
long enough and I’am wasting my time”
Doesn’t this shine a light on the behavior so many of us exhibit—even if subtle, we all suffer from some form of “not-enoughness” that keeps us stuck in this loop of autopilot “doing.”
Thoughts that we aren’t doing enough can drive us to act in ways that don’t align with what really matters to us.
We subconsciously keep ourselves busy by compulsively working so we might avoid dealing with issues in our current reality.
The paradox of productivity is that being productive helps us reach our goals; So the question is: When does productivity become counter productive?
It can look different for each of us, but feeling burned out or having feelings of low-self worth, i.e., people-pleasing or never feeling good enough and not living our truth/acting authentically are really good indicators.
I’ve wrestled with this question in my own life.
I had long held myself to an unrealistic set of standards when it comes to my work, productivity, motivation, and output.
But in the last few years, I’ve learned to reframe the question with a much better one:
“Am I doing my best?”
Because here’s the honest truth:
If you’re doing your best, you’re doing enough.
And I’ll admit, I used to believe the opposite.
It wasn’t about doing your best, but about doing what’s necessary.
While I still believe there are short seasons of life where that’s the case, I’ve realized that it’s only a recipe for burnout.
It might work in the days, or maybe even the months, but it will fail you in the years.
Doing your best is not a weakness. It’s a sustainable strength.
So, the next time you catch yourself feeling like you aren’t doing enough, pause and reframe it:
Are you doing your best?
Because if you’re doing your best, you’re doing enough.
Stay blessed forever.