Sometimes less is more.
I am really trying to learn to embrace this statement, letting go of the pressures, the constant demands, expectations, commitments, pleasing others, the annoyingly persistent drive that never ends or is satisfied.
It is okay to not live such a fast-paced life all the time. Taking life in the slow lane is not unproductive or lazy. I have lived my life in the fast lane for so long in the name of "doing what is right and expected" and "pioneering my way to success".
When I completed my Masters of Education with my single subject credential back in May of 2015, I began to realize this scary truth: I have been in school for more than 75% of my life. Not saying this time was wasted, it was an investment, but man, higher education really gives graduate students a real dose of post-traumatic stress.
I would wake up in sheer panic thinking I missed a deadline. I would literally live moment by moment, pattering and fiddling around my home thinking that I was forgetting the most important assignment of my life, and it wasn't until 2016 rolled around that I gave myself permission to relax, watch an episode or two of a show. Guys, I just finished The Office and Parks and Recreation IN 2017! I am now taking part of inside jokes with my friends about various characters and funny lines from those shows, and yes, if you know, Leslie Knope, she is my spirit animal #bindersarelife!
2017 was definitely a year of growth for me in the area of being still and slowing down, and now that I am 3 months into 2018, I am trying to find the perfect balance of the pendulum between productivity and peace. Is there a happy medium?
Something that I am finding that has brought a lot of freedom for me is finding the 3 words that would make me the best me for others. After deep soul-searching, prayer, and with the help of Brendon Burchard's book, High Performance Habits, I found them.
I desire to be healthy, focused, and present.
I desire to be healthy in the sense that I am physically fit, limber, and strong for the tasks at hand. I am mentally rested and clear of who I want to be and what I am committed to cause. I am spiritually centered and filled with love and compassion. I am emotionally honest and true to myself and others.
I desire to be focused on what really matters to me, my writing.
I am a writer.
Honestly, as I say these 4 powerful words, it shakes me to my deepest core. It makes me tear up because this is my heart's cry.
This is my why, why I am here on this earth.
What I want to give to this world are words of compassion and inspiration, to make someone smile, to empower someone to get up one more time and try again, to remind someone that they matter and their dream matters, and above all, to embrace and steep their soul in love.
I desire to be present, to be ALL here with the people I am around, my surroundings, the nature the surrounds me. I don't want to be in my to-do lists or in my 10 year plan and missing out on my present. I want to be all here, engaged, loving, and honest with those around me.
I want to be healthy, focused, and present, and sometimes less is more.
I encourage you today to get out of the fast lane and slow down. Find a quiet space and just breathe. Allow yourself to dig deep and hear your heart. Allow your heart to catch up with where your body is right now in this present moment. Find the three simple words that describe the best you that you want to be to this world and start today, right this moment. Embody these words and bring them to your loved ones, acquaintances, haters, relationships that brew and fester with cordial hypocrisy; bring this intentionality to the world because guess what, the world needs the best you!
Being the best you beckons, calls, and inspires the best in others.
Be the inspiration, be the passion, be the love, be the change that you want to see in this world.
Less is more.