5 Ways to Achieve Less and Discover More
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
I’m such a do-er. Anybody relate? One of my life-long pursuits included ridding myself of the yoke of perfection. Perfection is relentless. Never satisfied, it continually places unattainable demands on its prey. For an over-achiever, that constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Thankfully, God offers a much better way. He invites us to come to Him and receive His rest.
No matter how we’re wired, many of us struggle with the discipline of rest. Rest is recalibrating. Rest is healing. Rest is an invitation to reset the strained sinews of our soul. As we embrace rest, we make peace with the sacred space of less. Those holy moments refit our hearts with God’s custom-made yoke. He beckons us to achieve less of what is holding us back from His best so we can discover more of His purpose and plan. Then our doing is grounded in our being in Him.
Here are 5 ways to achieve less and discover more:
Worry Less, Pray More
Pray when worry threatens your peace and discover more joy. Worry is a negative form of prayer. Reframe your worries by turning them into petitions and prayers to an ever-present God who wants to carry your burdens for you.
Do Less, Pause More
Pause when a plethora of invitations place unrealistic expectations on your shoulders and discover more purpose with intentional choices. Turn your focus to being more than doing. Seek to be present, compassionate, and wise, and you’ll lay a healthy foundation for what you decide to do with your time, resources, and emotional reserves.
Stress Less, Purge More
Purge areas of mental, emotional and physical clutter and discover more clarity and bandwidth. Entertaining negative thought patterns and self-talk is not only destructive, it’s incredibly draining. Redirect negative thoughts through the filter of Scripture and replace them with what God says about you and your situation. Let go of unforgiveness and doubt and embrace grace and trust in a loving Heavenly Father. Organize areas of physical clutter that breed anxiety. You only have so much space, energy, and time. Choose quality over quantity and notice less stress and increased margin in your life.
Complain Less, Practice Gratitude More
Practice gratitude when discontent rears its ugly head and discover a healthier perspective on life. It takes more energy to complain than it does to respond to your surroundings with positivity. Life doesn’t always play nice. But complaining only cements a bad attitude by rehearsing the worst possible outcomes. Look for ways to become more thankful and patient with yourself and others.
Rush Less, Pace Yourself More
Pace yourself and discover more time for who and what really matters. Rushing is a sign of an overwhelmed schedule and an undisciplined life. Learn to listen to your body’s alarm bells: headaches, fatigue, tight shoulders, and elevated blood pressure. Spot signals from others that indicate they’re feeling slighted or unimportant by your tight schedule. Slow down and savor moments. Eat slowly. Read a book slowly. Breathe slowly. Your heart will thank you in more ways than one.
Longing to encounter God in new ways? Allow Him to reset the rhythm of your life. Take it from a recovered perfectionist - that custom-made yoke looks good on you.
Make Your Life Matter No Matter What
With love,
Angela
