This week’s advice is about learning not to deviate from the path you’re on as you are learning what happens when the pressure finally releases. Pressure can trigger extreme responses, like overthinking or ignoring your family to achieve professional goals. When it becomes relentless, we tend to enter survival mode, and those responses turn into our lifestyle. But when the valve releases and we get the chance to become someone who can navigate life without pressure, for me at least, I’ve realized that pacing myself doesn’t make me less ambitious, boundaries are helping me thrive, and I can return to chasing my dreams without returning to burnt-out versions of me.
I have shared before that my natural operating speed is espresso with a keyboard. I type, I move, I talk, all fast. The more I explore myself, the more I learn, and I’ve found that I move so fast, in part, because I’ve always felt it was part of my duty to show that I was interested by moving with expediency towards what I desired. The early bird was rewarded, and I did not want to miss an opportunity because I was too slow or had not shown up on time. Now I understand a little more about grace, and I have learned that I was trusting in myself when I said I was trusting in God. That shift in perspective has led me to be okay with focusing on only a few things this season, rather than overplanning and then being disappointed with myself when I didn’t accomplish an impossible number of tasks. I embrace the times I get to rest. I set the pace, and I keep it, and that is better than okay.
I was designed with a vividly beautiful imagination. I love stories, and I can visualize them as I read. I can get lost in shows and movies as I watch them. I believe God brought me to AZ because of the way the skies are, as the sun rises and sets, and even as the moon and stars light up the night. Yet there is a catch when you grow up with imaginary friends and artsy hobbies—you do not grasp the idea of boundaries well. Think about it, logically. As a creative, my mind needs space to roam and build, unbound by the limits of science, religion, politics, reality. Thank God for therapy and a desire to heal and to have healthy relationships, because now I know how boundaries help me live this big life. I trust myself enough to enter situations where I cannot control everything. And if that isn’t progress, I am just not sure what it is 🙃.
I have always wanted to be a “rich man’s rich wife.” Yes, I am spoiled and I love a good gift but I never minded working for the life I dreamed of. As a matter of fact, I planned to do so. I decided that because I didn’t have a traditional family unit, I could really take that “work hard, play hard” mantra to heart, but my body didn’t agree. So now that I am in a stable place with my health, I am in a healthy professional environment that I love, how do I embrace my nature to work hard without betraying myself as I have in the past? The most beautiful part of this process is that I am witnessing it all. I am living this in real time, and the lessons build on themselves. The pace, the rest, and the boundaries are the way. Those paths worked on my healing journey. Now that I am living in my answered prayer, why would I deviate from the path that led me here?
That sounds like an obvious question, but I have spent more time in survival mode than I have in this space of abundance and thriving. And it is more than okay to remind myself that I have no idea what I am doing, even as I know exactly what to do. Each day I wake up in awe of my life, full of gratitude to God for everything. Then to myself. If I hadn’t shown up, God would have had nothing to work with. Don’t get it twisted—I love God, then I love me. That’s why I love you enough to share this advice.
