Death Zone, our everyday reality...
By "death zone" I mean the area in the high mountains. In short: it is the space above the 8,000 meters mark. Where does the name come from? Contrary to the intuition, this has nothing to do with overt danger resulting from the difficulty of steep slopes, walls, glaciers, cold, etc. Such difficulties combined with the possibility of a loss of life occur at any height. People die easily even in the lower mountains.
The death zone got its gloomy name for another reason, also related to height. Above the mentioned height something extremely dangerous happens: the under-oxygenated body does not regenerate. At the end of the road, there is the swelling of the lungs and brain and certain death. That is a very tricky killer; it is enough to be in this zone for the inevitable process of death to take place. It happens beyond our will. There is only one rescue: you must stay in the death zone as short as possible. Conquer the summit and run down, regardless of the level of physical and mental fatigue. The key phrase is: "does not regenerate". The "I’ll sit down for a minute and rest" scenario doesn't work. You sit down, you die. It may seem to you that you can rest, gain strength and immediately move on. You won't move, because your body is undergoing a process of self-destruction. Minute by minute you die. The balance of regeneration versus weakness is negative. You die believing that you are resting and in control of the situation.
Why am I writing about this? Regardless of my amateur love for the mountains, this is not a climbing blog. This is a website about self-reflection and self-management. Well, the death zone is a beautiful metaphor that reflects what is happening with our daily repetitive activity. Yes, we tend to arrange such death zones ourselves, even though its intensity is much lower, which means that the effects are much longer delayed. But it is insidiously eating out our body and mind. We do it ourselves.
I have a simple question on my mind:
"Do I have a tried and tested system of daily activities that can completely regenerate me physically and mentally throughout the week?"
The keyword is COMPLETELY. What does this actually mean - completely? It means that both physically and mentally I return to the full of my initial capacity and ability to face every adequate physical and mental challenge. In practice, this means that you consciously and willingly regain full internal PEACE and a sense of control. And nobody and nothing in the ordinary everyday dimension can permanently upset you from this peace. No boss, no client, etc.
Do you always get up only thanks to the alarm clock and you not get enough sleep? You have a negative regeneration balance. No coffee in the morning means you won’t get started? You have a negative regeneration balance. Do you need to have a few coffees more during the day? You have a negative balance. Do you live with the feeling that you are still just catching up and never ticking the list off completely? You have a negative balance. Do you go to sleep every day with a list of things you didn't manage to do? You have a negative balance. You wake up and the first feeling is like "oh, I need to do this and that..." and a heavy stomach? You have a negative balance. Do you perceive Friday as mental liberation, and you resent Mondays? You have a negative balance. Do you have difficulty switching your mind completely between work, home, family, etc.? You have a negative balance. Trouble focusing? You have a negative balance. Do you check emails, text messages and the call log every now and then? You have a negative balance. And so on and so forth for most of everyday and repetitive activities. Seemingly small, which, when combined, create almost your entire life.
If you are in your 20s or 30s, that's a favourable factor, at least in the physical dimension, not necessarily in the mental. It facilitates quick regeneration – and cheating yourself that you control the situation; that you are made of steel. Meanwhile, day by day, your balance is slowly moving towards negative values. And it will hit you with the force of a typhoon under the guise of "burnout" or a "midlife crisis." And this is nothing more than a lack of prevention and permission for the poison to develop. You'd better go back to the initial list of questions above.
This weekly interval has been adopted arbitrarily, but not accidentally. The thing is that the periods of the above mentioned negative balance of regeneration versus weakness do not last for months or even years. The thing is that you should control the recovery of inner peace in time compartments that can be rationally measured. A day would be too idealistic, though possible. A week is perfect in my opinion. Don't fool yourself with this one-time annual holiday. It's an illusion... Even because if you think that it is enough for you, then for your loved ones probably not anymore and you are the key element that ruins their balance sheet and the balance of your relationships.
Take your time to answer this key question, "Do I have a tried and tested system...". However, if you answer yes to the question quickly and without hesitation, replace this question with another one. The one that allows for verification:
"Do I systematically, repetitively and consciously return to a state of complete internal peace?"
If you still answer yes (which I wish to everyone), let me suggest you make one last verification. Ask people around you, what do you most often project: calm or trembling? I will never forget the comment of one of my bosses shortly after I took over the role of a Country Manager - "Dariusz, why are you running around the office like a rat? Do you realize what influence you have on your team?”. And I was, of course, convinced that everything is under control and everyone was looking at the world the same way I did. Not to mention that less than five years later, in a new company, in four months I run myself down to the state in which the ambulance had to take me to the hospital for three weeks. I didn’t know how to regenerate, neither physically nor mentally. I didn't even think of such a concept.
Well, we have asked ourselves two interesting questions plus an additional one to our circle. It only helps diagnose the situation. What if the answer to these questions does not satisfy us? Which is quite likely.
I have devoted three previous articles to this issue. Now, together with this summary and the strong metaphor of the death zone, they form a coherent whole. Here they are (LINKS):
Self-reflection, question no 3 - body, mind, spirit, or why won't we go faster and further?
Self-reflection. question no 4 - is your brain like an ancient sword?
Values, or there and back again...
As a keystone to all the considerations, let me also suggest reading at least one article from the series about happiness (LINK):
Happiness and good life, part three and final
This is quite a nice starter pack for further independent action, to regain inner peace systematically, repeatedly and consciously.
PS The belief that this can be done with chemicals, sessions with the therapist and/or other extravagance is naive. First of all, if I am not ready to systematically help myself, then chemicals, therapists, a sports car or a newer younger partner will only work in the short-term. The essence of the problem will remain intact, and life will leak out drop by drop,just like in the death zone.Death