I am SUPER lucky to have a strong group of supportive and loving friends that I admire and love. Recently my friend read this article from Marcia Reynolds and wanted to know...."Anyone else going through this?"
For smart, goal-driven women, a mid-life crisis isn't about recovering lost youth. It's about discovering the application of their greatness. The problem is that no one has defined what "greatness" looks like so the quest has no specific destination.
Having the goal of "being great" is as hard to define as it is to achieve. There is always "the next great thing" to master, which may leave them feeling incomplete. I have come to call this phenomenon the "Burden of Greatness."
Every single one of my friends replied with a yes! Huh??? These are my best friends on the planet and we have never discussed this burden. What in the world are we doing to ourselves, ladies??? Everyone's definition of "greatness" is different and yet (in our own minds) we are all failing at hitting the mark. EEK!!! I read the article and the part that spoke to me most was this...
"This restlessness, along with the drive to excel, either shuts down our emotions or we channel them toward our chosen goals. Instead of experiencing the fullness of life, we live in a frenzy of email, chores, and to-do lists. We obsess about what we need to do differently in the future and in idle moments we play the “if only” game with the past."
I waste LOTS of time being restless and revisiting my "what if's." A TON OF TIME!!!! Realizing that fact is the first step and I am proud of myself for noticing BUT there is lots of work to do to get off the "restless burden of greatness train"!
THIS "DEMO DAY" sermon that my Pastor shared last week, is changing this for me. The WHOLE sermon series speaks to this. I've decided to STOP down in the "little moments" and start taking it all in, again. I know that is the kind of person I used to be. It's time to appreciate exactly who God wants me to be and stop putting SO much damn pressure to be "perfect." Yes, I have a pile of laundry on the chair in my room. Yes, we had take-out pizza for dinner last night, BUT I also had time to lay in my daughter's bed and chat with her while she packed for her Girl Scout campout, got in 3 games of Go Fish with my little bitty & spent time on the phone with my best friend, helping each other work through the pressures of the day. Those moments of GREATNESS are what I strive to achieve every single day. What about you??