I used to live by the narrative of “no pressure, no diamonds” or pretty much any of the “hustle” culture talk.
Hustle culture teaches us that the harder you work, the more things come your way. It also teaches that the only way to be successful is to keep super busy and do it all by yourself. If you don’t get what you want, it’s because you didn’t work hard enough…
When I stepped out of that culture and started to focus on “rest”… it was so counter cultural. I wasn’t striving for anything but instead I was learning to listen to what the Lord was saying.
I became more focused on being intentional with the time I had and being ok with not filling every second with something. I found, when I rested, I put more effort into what the Lord was asking me. I also was able to walk in His will and not my own. This allowed Him to bless what I was doing and in turn… I became more productive.
The first of the year is full of talk about New Year’s Resolutions, goal-setting, and hyper-focus. These things are wonderful things…when used the right way! It’s as if we feel the need to have big, impressive goals…
Here are some ideas that take the “hustle culture” out and put God in.
- Spend more time with the Lord – I will spend 10 minutes with the Lord each morning. I will work to increase it each month.
- Move my body – I will get up and move around once an hour. I will start with 1 minute and I will work to increase the length of time each week.
- I will fuel my body well – I will eat a vegetable with each meal. I will opt for one piece of chocolate instead of two.
- I will read more – I will read 2 pages each night and work to increase this each week.
- And here is the hardest one…. I will choose ONE of these items to work on this year and I won’t add another one until I have developed a habit with the first one.
Creating margin for time with the Lord, time with your family, and time for church attendance gives a peace in your life. You aren’t rushing from one thing to another. It allows the Lord room to move.
Lord, Thank you for margin. Thank you for being so patient and kind with us in our “hustle season” and being so generous and wise when we come to you. We know not all seasons will be “slow” but we are thankful we can find rest in you. Amen.
