Selah…
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:9
Selah — Stop. Pause. Think.
When we lose touch with our core, we lose perspective on life. This statement is true and is where I found myself a few years ago. While working at the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, a luncheon speaker said something that stuck with me: “Many of us are too busy to be successful.”
You can choose to find time to pause, reflect, and determine if what is in your life should be there or if how you’re showing up is a genuine reflection of who you are and who you want to be. Or you can choose to be “busy.”
Often, we are “too busy” to ask ourselves reflective questions because the answers may be challenging to face. Or maybe we feel important with our busyness. I was there, too.
My mom often told me, “Alyssa, you are too corporate.” It wasn't until I was at a large fundraising gala that a gentleman at our table said to my husband, “It must be amazing to be married to her.” My husband's response was, “Try it,” and I realized my definition of success didn’t align with the impact I wanted to make. I was giving my best to others and had very little left for me or my family.
I was not reflective; I was busy. I was capturing much professional recognition, but was it what I wanted? Was my motive pure? In one part of my career, I received two awards in a month and sat at the table during the second ceremony, thinking, “Is this all worth it?”
I was the only one who could pause and ask myself raw questions and answer them honestly - not just for me, but for those who experienced me. When I honestly stopped to reflect and ask myself deep questions, I had adjustments to make. What was authentic to me was off track, and what those closest to me were experiencing didn't match what I valued or pictured as authentic leadership, happiness, or success.
All the recognition felt good, but those in my world needed me to show up differently. I needed to go back to my core and exercise it differently. I found God sending me back for realignment and answers.
With this mindset, I asked myself questions that inspired me to consciously participate in life at a different level than anything I had dug into before. The beginning of this journey was intense because I was fighting the raw and humbling growth I was led through.
When I shook off the awkwardness of sitting in silence to think, I learned that when I intentionally took the time to believe in myself, I became inwardly resourceful, fostering grounded confidence and clarity.
Encouragement for Inspired Growth
My passion for you is to embrace the awkwardness of silence, which moves us to cut through chaos, clutter, and noise, become clear on what God wants, and let this truth rearrange our priorities and thinking. Let’s intentionally turn down the volume of the noise and turn up the volume of the knowing.
Lord, guide me to want what you want and let this truth rearrange my priorities and thinking. Flood me with Holy Ambition and align my motives to be in harmony with your purpose for my life. Amen.
Clarity is the most crucial concept in establishing and living an organized life.
Photo by Averee Kreutzfeldt at Bar 33 Ranch, Blaisdell, North Dakota