things you need to choose instead of urgency
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A post by @goodmindsquote (1.2 Millions followers on Instagram)
did you ever go through a phase in life where it seems nothing is clicking with you
for most of my life, i measured meaning by how much i could carry.
how full my calendar was.
how many people needed me.
how much noise i could endure.
quiet felt suspicious.
rest felt earned only after collapse.
and space? space felt like failure like something important had fallen through the cracks.
i grew up thinking that fulfillment came from fullness. that if i just kept adding opportunities, connections, milestones, purpose eventually the equation would equal enough.
i felt the urgency to catch up to someone who wasnāt even on the same page as me.
i reached out. i pushed myself to level up.
but i burned out.
i felt depleted. i felt like i had fallen behind in the race of life.
but eventually, i realized they were running a race i wasnāt even meant to be in.
they were chasing a version of success i no longer subscribed to.
and all this time, i was trying to sprint in the opposite direction.
now, iām trying to find the peace of time.
the peace of space.
the peace of soul.
while everyone else is racing toward more, and more validation, more recognition, more noise
iām choosing to stay on the page iām on.
no urgency.
no need to prove or perform.
just self-contentment, quietly building a version of me iām proud to live with.
but something shifted. not in a single dramatic moment, but slowly. like a light flickering on in a room i didnāt know i had. i started noticing how much of my energy was spent maintaining things that didnāt feed me. how often i said āyesā out of fear instead of desire. how heavy my life had become, not with meaning, but with maintenance.
and i started wondering:
what if fullness wasnāt the goal?
what if the real magic wasnāt in what i held onto but what i made room for?
here are 11 steps you can take to avoid burning out
1. i started letting things go
not dramatically. not perfectly. not even confidently at first.
but gradually, with shaky hands and an aching kind of relief.
and in the spaces that opened up, i found something i hadnāt expected: breath. clarity. a version of myself that wasnāt buried under constant proving.
here are some of the things iām learning to live without and the quieter gifts theyāve left behind. remember, sometimes growth will also feel like loss.
2. iām learning to live without constant validation
i used to need proof that i was doing okay. a compliment, a ālike,ā a congratulatory text. something to remind me that my efforts were being seen. but chasing validation is exhausting. it makes you a stranger to your own voice. iām learning to ask myself first: do i like this? does this feel right? and most days, that answer is enough. i forgot, most people even donāt like themselves.
3. iām learning to live without being in control all the time
i thought if i just planned enough, prepared enough, worried enough, i could avoid the unknown. but life has its own curriculum. and the more i try to grip it, the less i enjoy it. iām slowly practicing trust in people, in timing, in a version of myself that can handle the unplanned. because, no matter how much we try, life will follow the script written by God.
4. iām learning to live without explaining myself constantly
for years, i felt the need to narrate my choices, soften my āno,ā over-justify my boundaries. now iām learning that clarity doesnāt always need commentary. not everything needs to be made palatable to others. sometimes the clearest thing you can do is simply stand by your choice, quietly.
5. iām learning to live without urgency masquerading as purpose
not every idea needs to be actioned. not every opportunity is meant to be seized. i used to confuse movement with meaning but now, stillness feels brave. iām letting decisions take their time. letting answers arrive slowly, without being wrung out of me.
6. iām learning to live without the performance of productivity
thereās a version of me that wants to be impressive always doing, always building, always visible. but what iāve found is that some of my best work happens when no oneās watching. when itās just me, a quiet room, and a small idea that makes my heart stir. trying to find perfection in everything is nothing but burnout in silence.
7. iām learning to live without the pressure to be perpetually available
my energy is not an open buffet. my presence isnāt owed. i donāt have to reply in 3 minutes to prove i care. i can be unavailable and still be kind. still be trustworthy. still be loved. the right people understand that boundaries are not rejection theyāre respect.
8. iām learning to live without comparing timelines
someone elseās highlight reel isnāt my roadmap. i used to track my worth by where i stood next to others who was further, faster, better. but growth isnāt linear. and itās definitely not a competition. the pace that fits my soul is the pace that fits my life.
š sharing my personal favorites with you now
9. iām learning to live without overcommitting
i donāt need to say yes to every invite, every favor, every potential collaboration. iām allowed to disappoint people sometimes, if it means not abandoning myself. iām learning that peace often looks like fewer things done with more heart.
10. iām learning to live without needing to be understood all the time
not everyone will get it. not everyone needs to. i used to chase clarity, thinking if i just explained well enough, no one would misread me. but now i think, being misunderstood is a part of being real. not everyone will see your heart clearly. thatās okay. keep showing up anyway.
11. iām learning to live without certainty
i donāt always know whatās next. i donāt have a 10-step vision board. some days are wide open and a little scary. but theyāre also full of possibility. and iād rather live in the wonder of the unknown than in the illusion of control.
these arenāt final declarations. theyāre practices. soft, inconsistent, human practices. sometimes i still reach for what iāve outgrown. sometimes i still ache for the comfort of certainty, of approval, of being impressive.
but more and more, iām learning to honor the spaces in between.
the parts of life that arenāt loud or polished or urgent but still matter.
and in that quiet, iām finding a life that feels like mine.
a little lighter.
a little slower.
a little more true.
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