I am so sore, it’s not funny. After my ministry meeting today, we had dance practice for the presentation tomorrow. I haven’t danced a choreographed jazz/ballet routine in a long time so practice was grueling. I’m trying not to be nervous, but I kept going today because I am nervous.
Of course, I want the dance to go smoothly. I don’t want to miss any steps. It always amazes me how many hours go into rehearsals when the performance doesn’t last long at all. I want all the hard work to be worth it.
I used the travel the same way. I want it to go smoothly. I want to miss any sights. I want all the hard work of saving up money and all the time spent on getting to the destination to be worth it.
So I overdo it. I overdo practice. I overdo the travel itinerary. I come home tired and sore.
There is freedom in stepping back.
Yesterday I talked about the freedom in Self Care. When we practice Self Care, we step back. We step back from the work, the obligations, and the pressure. When we step back, we can take care of ourselves. We can make sure our bodies are not being overworked. We allow our minds to relax and our souls to breathe.
It is not only in practicing Self Care that we can step back. We can step back in other areas of our lives, and so experience freedom in those things as well.
We can step back from overthinking performances. We can step back from the worries and the nervousness. Whether on stage or in the workplace, if we’ve been doing our best this entire time, then we don’t have anything to worry about when it’s time to dance or time to face the boss’ performance review.
We can step back from filling our schedules to the brim. In traveling, I found that I actually come back relaxed if I didn’t plan every single hour of every single day. When my schedule had open slots to walk around, explore, or lounge around in the hotel, the vacation turns into an actual vacation. I used to make sure I saw everything because I didn’t know if I would come back to that place. Now, I tell myself I could always go back so there’s no pressure to experience it all. The truth is that I don’t know if I will go back, but that just means other adventures await.
Let the same be true for our everyday schedules. Don’t plan every single hour of every single day. Practice the freedom of stepping back by leaving breathing room in your schedule.
Stepping back helps keep us in good condition. When we step back into the hustle, we’re not tired or sore. We actually have the energy to hustle. Claim some freedom today by stepping back.
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