Advice from a Rebel Leader
Full Throttle into 2021
Are you bringing your whole self with you?
“The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is rather borne of the vague fear that we are wasting our life.” Eric Hoffer
2020 has moved like molasses and an avalanche all at once. Amid all the turmoil, many are questioning the intention and purpose of their lives. Can we continue in the way we are living and survive, or do we need a new way of moving through the world?
Author Eric Hoffer speculated that the autonomous self was the hardest thing for individuals to manage. Fearing a wasted life, we would engage in large scale movements based solely on their ability to distract us from our lives and reject our own autonomy. Put plainly, the freedom of moving through life with intention and direction is too overwhelming. Too much responsibility. Rather than pursuing our dreams and moving slowly, humanity is predisposed to join a movement demanding radical change over the challenging work of looking inward to pursue growth first as an individual. This is not to say the movements themselves are inherently negative — they’re incredible agents of change, growth, and forward motion. We need big, radical movements!
But do we know who we are when we show up to lend our voices?
Do we believe in the influence we hope to carry when we rush in?
The work of our lives is to move slowly, in all things. To paraphrase author and pastor John Mark Comer, “Love is slow; we are not in a hurry.” To live our lives is to learn how to love the freedom and intentionality we have the chance to explore, without throwing our weight and time into a storyline that we may not even understand. Think about this in terms of social media justice and online performative actions and involvement. Are you spending your time on that which moves the needle for others or are you simply trying to distract yourself from your own arena?
As I reflect on 2020, I would invite you to consider your intentions and time investments with me. In any arena, my challenge for you is to slow your role. Pace yourself. Slow is not wasteful; it is intentional. We are not in a hurry. And this life is a marathon. When you show up in 2021, show up with your whole self and be all in.
Mandy Capehart is a certified grief and life coach, and creator of The Restorative Grief Project. The Restorative Grief Project is an online community focusing on one another’s stories and new methodologies for grief, creating a safe environment for our souls to heal and our spirits to be revived. Registration is currently closed, but you can join the waitlist at www.MandyCapehart.com/grief or follow along with weekly columns on Ask A Grief Coach!
