Do you have those days that you try to get things done but it just doesn't happen? The to do list keeps growing, unexpected things keep coming up, the creative juices aren't flowing, things aren't going your way, you don't feel like yourself, etc. I call that an 'off' day. I had an off day this week...actually I had 3 off days this week, so I guess you could call it an 'off week' ha!
The frustrating things overpowered the happy things this week, and it got me down. It threw me off. Or maybe I was off to begin with...who knows.
I usually try to have my blog posts written and ready to go the day before I actually post them so that I'm not rushing to write something! Rushing isn't fun. This week I had planned to write a post about an aspect of my business.
I tried. I tried for three days, actually, and it didn't happen! My creative juices weren't flowing, there were a million distractions along with a rapidly growing to do list...you know the drill. I felt overwhelmed, so uninspired, and so not in the mood to write. So, it was late Wednesday afternoon and I was frustrated. Mostly at myself for my lack of productiveness & partly at everything that didn't go as planned this week. I was sitting in my car, phone in hand, waiting on one of the kiddos to finish tutoring (I'm a nanny!) and I was desperately trying to think of SOMETHING to write. Then a word pops into my head. Kindness.
When we mess up, God shows us kindness, forgiveness, love, and grace. But when I mess up, I find it hard to show MYSELF any of these things. I was beating myself up this week for not being more productive. I wasn't showing myself kindness, love, forgiveness, or grace. How often do we forget that we are supposed to not only show kindness & love to others but also to ourselves?
As hard as I try to be a perfect photographer, business owner, wife, daughter, sister, nanny, I'm not. I will never be. I have off days (or weeks)...and that's okay.
Of course there's the flip side, too. In my opinion, it's not okay to go through life not trying and giving up at the first sign of trouble. Sometimes the toughest obstacles are on the road to the most rewarding experiences. And sometimes giving yourself a kick in the rear is a good thing. But sometimes you have to cut yourself some slack. There's a fine line, and I think many small business owners (boss ladies, I'm talking to you!!) struggle to find that line. How hard to push ourselves versus when to show ourselves some forgiveness & grace.
I guess the important thing is to get up everyday with the mindset of doing everything for God's glory. Maybe you'll mess up (I know I do...daily!), maybe you won't check off everything on your to-do list, maybe you'll have a major 'off' day, maybe your day won't go according to YOUR plan, but at least your heart is in the right place & your living for the right reasons...for a bigger purpose. For Him.
Next week I'm going to try again for a business post! We'll see how it goes. For now I'm just feeling grateful for God's constant examples of love, mercy, and grace...and for the fact that tomorrow is Friday! ;)
If you've had an 'off' day, what is your 'remedy'? Running, reading a book, baking? Please comment below! :)