As I've alluded to the past few weeks, I've been doing a lot of reflection over the last two months on where we're at and where our business was headed. In all honesty, I didn't like the trajectory.
I don't regret the last three years. They have stretched me far beyond what I believed I was capable of. I've grown up as a businesswoman. I've had to make hard calls. I've had to carry heavy loads. And I've had to rely upon the Lord like never before.
Right before we left for South Africa - when I had just made it through surgery recovery and was gearing up for my big book launch - I got an email. It was a short and simple email but it rocked my world in profound ways.
For privacy purposes, I can't tell you the nature of the email or who it was from, but I can tell you that the whole trip, it consumed every conscious thought. It forced me to step back and really ask, "Why?"
"Why am I doing what I'm doing?"
"Why do I feel like I need to build things bigger and better?"
As I asked myself hard questions, I realized that, unknowingly, I had bought into the lie that says that more is what really matters.
All around me, I saw the signs that I had believed this and let this belief guide my actions and strategies. I was chasing after MORE.
More speaking opportunities, more book sales, more influence, more customers, more social media followers, more traffic, more impact…
More. More. More.
Our culture has convinced us that more is always better. More success equals more fulfillment. More traffic numbers means more influence.
But in all the MORE-chasing, I was losing something of greater value: my joy.
I was tired. My heart was heavy. And I felt a little like I was suffocating.
The responsibilities, the emails, the people needing me, the business demands, the projects, the meetings… they were sucking the life and joy right out of my lungs.
My heart was craving rest, not rushing. Peace, not platform-building. And solitude, not success.
I was tired of the chasing and the racing and the out-of-breath sort of living.
So I came home from South Africa settled in my spirit: I was done with MORE.
Instead, I am pursuing a life of less. Fewer responsibilities. Fewer commitments. Fewer meetings. Fewer to-do's. Fewer must-do's.
Which is why I chose REST as my word for 2016. It's time to slow down. It's time to savor. It's time to say "no". It's time to stop, to pay attention, to really listen, to breathe.
For 2016, I've committed to only focus on three things when it comes to the business: writing, scoping, and producing products. Those are the three things that really refresh and energize me and allow me the space to breathe and to pour into my family and my community. And even with those things, I'm really pacing myself so that doing these things are a blessing not a burden.
{It's possible I may do a few other things here and there, but each "yes" is going to be carefully and prayerfully considered - and my accountability partners have to agree that it is a wise "yes" for me.}
I'm so happy. So calm. So at peace. I'm ready for #TheYearofRest!
P.S. Just for fun, I'll be documenting #TheYearofRest on Instagram if you want to follow along and be inspired! And come back tomorrow when I'll be sharing my 4 goals for 2016 and how they coincide with my Year of Rest.
