Feeling off-kilter?
I’ve been feeling off. Not depressed, stressed or anxious, just off. I haven’t been connecting, writing or expressing which I know helps. Just hermitting a little instead.
Why, and why am I sharing these inner peccadillos? What have I been doing with this off time? And what’s next?
Because there’s no point in feeling any kind of edge without using that energy to create change.?
Right now I’m in Dubai at an investor conference. What’s the collective noun for a bunch of VCs? Well, I’m a part of that unmentionable. And right right now I’m sat by the pool writing this note, see pic.
This evening we’re going to the desert to go quad biking on the dunes. Looking up at the skies with no light pollution. Nothing, just the universe, out there. What an experience right? What an adventure and how fortunate am I to be here and able to do these things.?
I’m just not feeling it like I should. Something is off.
Don’t waste any energy feeling at all sorry for me. I’m not. I know how privileged I am and appreciate how self indulgent this note is.
In the background I’m not able to mentally swerve the horrendousness going on in the world - populism taking more root, war, hate, division, global de-coupling, looming recession, uncertainty, disinformation. Temporarily unable to decipher what I’m anchoring vs what really fits, in context. Struggling to connect the conscious and unconscious mind. Which will pass.
It’s made me very reflective. I’m sure you have, or will feel similarly at some point.
As far as I see it, at the macro, we only have one real job - to love and cherish, while leaving the world a slightly better place for our kids, and theirs.?
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Personally I need to do more. The itch has become an uncomfortable scratch.
To start with I need to get the mojo back, so doing all of the obvious. Better food, more water, gym, sleep etc. More time with loved ones. Back to authentically feeling gratitude. That’s the baseline, which I’m not far away from.
Then at work, focusing even more on founders who are transforming the world. Doing good at venture scale. Creating efficiency and optimising business where there is a whole world of change available to better manage our precious resources for smarter human consumption.
Writing to pay it forwards. Share learnings from this side of the desk, more videos, more focus on the qual not the quant of the founder experience (I tried the cerebral stuff to sound smart but I just don’t care enough). My passion is wrapped around founder mental health to mental strength, and performance.?That's my jam.
And personally, I’m going to pick up the phone less, switch off social media / mute words, reflect good news, be more present with the kids, better connect with 6 degrees friendships. Take ownership, take responsibility. Reflect on identity but most importantly work out how to lose more of it. Read more, study more. Focus on things that annoy me, without getting annoyed.
Consciously and openly giving less weight to hate.?
Getting back to my purpose which is to simply “build things that help people” (currently helping people build things that help people).
While practicably encouraging young people to support investigative journalism, learn civics, about money, relationships, politics - inspire. Going into schools, other institutions. Creating the frameworks for others to join.
I do believe we will cycle through to the other side of hate, populism, bad govt. disinformation. But we all have to do a little more to get involved. Right now.?
I think all this is what’s making me feel off.
How are you feeling??
I grow proptech companies using my influence from decades of industry experience, acting as an advisory to some of the biggest names in global real estate, advising on sales and acquisitions, and operations.
11 个月Dan Bowyer there are some big changes taking place - in the macro and micro - even Linkedin are laying off huge amounts of folk despite have 810M users ... Let me break it down for you - everything is just 10 x's more effort for little gain. Examples Dan, your Linkedin - now you get 500 to 3,000 read something that is your original thought, no longer those 10K plus audiences when you post - tick, money is too tight to mention - in terms of it being deployed - tick, money is expensive - tick, on a global front it looks like two wars are playing out - maybe more to come - tick, so all of a sudden Dan you may feel alienated, passed over and a little powerless. But worst of all you feel sidelined. What to do - well in March this year I had the same feelings - so I was about to puff out my chest, put my armour on and go again, start that cycle of 14 hour days, six days a week and through pure work rate scale the heights again - instead I came to my senses, highlighted Wednesdays and Thursdays on my Whiteboards and diaries and put the word Work. For the rest of the days I put the word Off. So 5 days each week my head is my own, for two days it works on stuff that interests me. And my income has dropped by only 20% - go figure. ??
Strategy | Policy | Tech
11 个月Thanks for sharing. Feeling more off-kilter from world events than usual at the moment, so it's healthy to consciously recalibrate what you can and can't do about that.
Board Advisor | Operational Leader | Investor | Founder | Co-Founder | Community | Podcaster & upcoming Author
12 个月Where are you? Looks ?? exotic
Chief Vision Officer & Founder at HANGAR49, EOA Member
12 个月Beautiful write up. Thanks for the vulnerability + the share...
Dan Bowyer we all feel off ! Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing . Inspiring and motivating my dear friend . We all think like you feel and don’t always acknowledge and /or express our feelings. The first step is self awareness. You are on it . Self care more consistently my friend . You are crystal clear on the meaning of life . Our Purpose is to love and be loved. Continue to put the “oxygen mask” on mate and get perspective. Love ya ??