The Hardest Part of Being an Executive Administrator? Just "Being".

As I write this, I am watching beautiful yellow birds with black wings and speckled tails merrily flit to and from the three bird-feeders hanging just beyond an expansive set of floor to ceiling windows, overlooking a thick forest of newly leaved trees.

The birds seem to lead the simplest of lives, void from stress, not thinking about the past or necessarily planning for the future. All that matters to them is right now and getting to that delicious seed and then talking it over with their other birdie friends.

Each year, I travel up to Maine to stay in a single room cabin/art studio for three days.

Alone.

If you asked me in my 20's whether I would ever want to travel ANYWHERE completely alone, I would have looked at you like a crazy person. But here I am... and the funny thing is I religiously travel up to Maine, for this solitary retreat, every year, not only because I want to - but because I have to.

I have to find a place, even if only for a brief time, that allows me to step away. A place that allows my mind to rest from the constant list of timelines and to do's. A place that allows me the space to, well... just be.

I want to be fully mindful and content in the now, just like those yellow birds.

The deep woods of Maine are a great location for this endeavor. But, even though I give myself this space, the reality of "just being" is really REALLY hard.

At first, I wasn't sure why it was so darn hard. But this weekend, I gleaned some insight.

I am an Executive Administrator and I LOVE this profession. But the types of individuals (like me!) who end up falling in love with this career path are the exact people who excel at everything that is the quintessential opposite of "just being".

It is an Executive Administrator's job to constantly be reviewing the past in order to learn from and make things more efficient moving forward, while simultaneously (and meticulously) preparing for anything that is upcoming ahead (anywhere from 1 minute out to 2 years in some cases). If you were born to be an EA, this need for looking back in order to then look forward, is most likely not relegated to your professional life alone - because nurturing, planning and preparing are innate traits that you just can't switch off. I am sure the same amount of focus goes into life surrounding you including your spouse, your children, your extended family, your community and beyond.

With all that planning and preparing, who has time to focus on the now?! Definitely not me! But that is exactly why Executive Administrators need to have that opportunity for re-centering, re-discovering and re-charging (a la "just being") the most.

For me it is only three days, but it is my three days of no timelines...not even my own. I read. I nap. I read some more. I go sit on some rocks down the driveway to look at the river. I watch a myriad of beautiful birds eating from the bird feeders. I go for random drives and if I see something that intrigues me, I pull over and take a look and sometimes take a picture.

I have to admit, it takes me about 24 hours to get my mind to stop focusing on the never-ending to-do list in my head, but once I get there, it is magnificent. It feels like a well being filled back up, with pure water you are ready to go back and share with everyone. I also learn so much from being in nature (which I rarely get a chance to focus on at home.) When my mind is settled, I?also feel like my creative initiative heightens, which positively benefits both the personal AND professional aspects of my life.

I guess I chose to write this more existential post because I truly believe that "just being" is not only an important part, but a necessary part of becoming better versions of our current selves. And I know, as a dedicated and truly engaged EA (layered with all the other parts of personal responsibility), that carving out that space seems like an impossibility. That is all the more reason you need to do it - for not only you, but for everyone around you.

"Just being" is really hard. But I promise you, practice makes progress, and in the end, aspiring to what those yellow birdies already have, will be totally worth it.