🥲 The productivity lie I believed for way too long

Hi friends,

Today I want to talk about one small but persistent lie I believed for way too long.

And it shaped how I approached each day:

“I only feel valuable when I’m doing something.”

Does it sound familiar?

For years, I’ve tied my self-worth to how productive I am. How much I can get done. How many things I can cross off a list. How useful I can be to others.

I’ve noticed it shows up in sneaky ways.

Like one time I bought a yoga class package, and one of the classes was 2.5 hours long. And instead of looking forward to it, I felt guilty. Like: How dare I take that much time just for myself?

Even though deep down, I love long sessions like that. I could nerd out on anatomy, movement, and mindful practice for hours. But my brain still whispers: You could be doing something more valuable, something more “productive.”

I give 8 hours to my job without blinking. But two hours for my body or my peace of mind? Cue the guilt.

I track every task I complete, but if my day includes something soft like rest or stillness, I feel like I’ve failed. It feels like those things have to be “justified.” And later, they have to compensated for by long working hours.

And I’m tired of this. I’m tired of believing this lie. Because it’s not helping me live a soft and intentional life. It’s not helping me get closer to me and prioritize things that are truly valuable.

It’s like I can’t do something simply because it feels good. It always has to lead somewhere, prove something, produce something.

And no matter how much I do, I never feel caught up. There’s always more. More work, more content, more goals.

The truth is: I started attaching my identity to productivity. If I wasn’t producing, I wasn’t enough. If I rested, it wasn’t peaceful, it was anxious. Because somewhere in my mind, I believed that rest made me lazy. Undisciplined. Unworthy.

But if I only feel good about myself when I’m producing something… Who am I when I’m not producing?

This question feels so powerful and so honest. And I don’t have a perfect answer yet. But here’s what I’m learning to do right now:

I’m learning to reconnect with my body, with my mind. I want to prioritize time for me, not just for my work and for other responsibilities. My rest deserves the same level of respect as my work.

I’m learning to see presence as productive. Just being is enough. I don’t have to be constantly doing something to be valuable. I’m valuable just because. And that is enough. My value doesn’t disappear when I stop working. And neither does yours.

I’m learning to measure the quality of my attention, not just the number of tasks I cross off every day. 24/7 scattered attention as a result of wanting to do it all and achieve it all is definitely not my true value.

Talk soon,
Veronika 🤍

P.S. I’d love to know: What’s one “productivity lie” you’ve believed about yourself and what are you replacing it with?