I see you.
You’re doing a lot.
You’re being really productive, leading efficient teams, and making a name for yourself.
You’re in control of your days in a way that requires discipline and intentionality.
That’s pretty cool…
But you do seem tired.
Maybe you’d like to trying being instead of doing for awhile?
Consider this your permission slip to embrace your existence as a human being and to ease the pressure you place on yourself to exist as a human doing.
You know as well as I do that this hustle culture you were handed (the one you might be perpetuating) is falling out of grace.
You can tell the next generations aren’t buying into it in the same way that we did.
I think they know better.
Gen Z would prefer to make a living, have a lot of free time, and—you guessed it—be happy.
What a racket.
They are not interested in the overworked, over-managed, overcommitted ways of their predecessors.
They obviously don’t know how good it feels to be the best at something, right?
It’s like their values lie somewhere outside of what they produce.
I hope you can agree that I’m onto something here, fellow human being.
What I’d really like to know is…
How are you sleeping?
What commitments have you said “no” to lately?
At what goalpost does your contentment lie in wait?
Do you judge or shame those who don’t have your drive or ambition?
Where is the space in your days to free flow with your energy and desires?
Your rest,
your space,
your contentment,
your self-compassion,
and your desires
are all incredibly important.
They might even be more important than GSD.
Hear me out.
You’re tired, I’ve been getting tired just watching you.
It’s a heavy lift to stay in control all the time.
And all for what? A few extra bedrooms and a car that makes people look twice?
Somewhere along the line, we’ve been convinced that we are great little producers, and the more we produce, the better we are.
But we aren’t producers—we are beings with the ability to produce.
I get it.
Trust me, I do.
I grew up believing this too.
Producing feels good!
When I stay in control, I get more done!
When I do a lot, people affirm me!
And my gracious, that affirmation feels good. Some might even say it can be addictive.
But all of this productivity might not be working for you.
Our collective anxiety, addiction, depression, and despair point to the truth that our priorities might be a little off here.
We maximize our days for productivity.
We turn our hobbies into side hustles.
We keep our phones in our hands to scroll through an endless sea of comparison or to stay available to people who don’t actually need us.
The hustle is addictive.
And that resentment you feel towards people who are taking it easier than you and still experiencing success?
That is an indicator that you’re not listening deeply enough to your soul.
The soul draws us into being, the ego drives us to doing.
We need to earn, achieve, and stay in control to feel safe and superior.
I’ve done it too, but the cultural conversation is shifting.
Capitalistic and consumerist mantras are choking on this new wave of “slow down, ease up, and stop trying so hard.”
Human doing, this is a lie you’ve been fed, that your worth is in what you produce.
Your value has nothing to do with how hard you work.
In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus makes it very clear that your hard work is actually irrelevant to your worth. The workers who show up first thing in the morning get paid the exact same as the workers who show up at the end of the day.
He was very clear that, spiritually speaking, your productivity is irrelevant.
We are all working the same vineyard.
And regardless of how much time or effort we put in, we all get paid the same at the end of the day.
Shouldn’t this let you off the hook to pursue more ease and enjoyment rather than pushing yourself to the next achievement?
But when you’ve spent your whole life believing that your value lies in your work, this is a tough truth to swallow.
Can I say a prayer for you?
I pray that you might know your worth outside of what you do and find value in a life that’s lived for internal peace and not external approval.
That you might be released from the deception that if something is harder it is better, and that you might see your goalpost is ever-moving because enough is never enough.
Lastly, I pray that you might find rest, pleasure, and goodness are not things to be earned through self-negation and hard work but gifts that have been freely given.
There is always another goal to hit, another achievement to earn.
But you’ve been let off the hook, human being, so that’s enough doing for now.
If we all get paid the same at the end of the day, why are you working so hard?
Why not enjoy the vineyard instead?