Looking back on my college life and even my high school life, I’ve always been this way.  It’s hard for me to sit and do nothing… really hard.  I really enjoy working and accomplishing things and using my time well.  This is a great skill to have as a small business owner…. not a great skill to have when you’re trying to take a day off. This past week, as I was trying to take some time off, I was thinking about where the line is. Where is the line between being driven and being content?? It seems almost impossible to be BOTH, right?! How can you be motivated and driven to move a business forward but yet be content and satisfied where you are at the same time?

My second thought was “Is it WRONG to be driven?”…. Is it wrong to enjoy working? … Is it wrong to be content and stay at the same place? Is it wrong to never long to do something beyond where I currently am? AH! So confusing….. well, it’s confusing if your purpose lies within your business because that would be a never-ending battle.  Sometimes I forget that my purpose isn’t dependent on my career.  After thinking about these questions this past week, I’ve come to realize a few key truths:

1. My purpose is in my identity in Christ…. which gives me freedom in my business…. freedom to be driven and content simultaneously.  My ultimate goal is to live out God’s plan for my life and so if that should be my main concern. When I’m truly living this way, there is a peace that covers all aspects of our life… but it’s hard to remember this daily. 

2. I’ve come to the realization that when my “driven-ness” causes me to miss out on quality time with my husband and pushes me to a state of unhappiness….. that’s the line. That’s when contentment needs to set in.

3. I’ve also decided that the key is BALANCE. I don’t ever want to be so driven that I’m consumed with moving forward and I forget to enjoy where we are. I also don’t want to be so content that I miss opportunities and fall into laziness. The sweet spot seems to be right in between the two.

4. I think there is something beautiful about being driven towards a greater goal…. especially if that greater goal is to serve and love people. When someone can live their life’s calling and change lives through a career, that’s such a gift! I think it’s more acceptable to be driven when your ultimate motive is not to serve yourself. If my goal is to work as hard as I possibly could just to pay off a chunk of our mortgage…. that’s great financially but that’s only serving ME.  However, if my goal is to speak and teach more because I know I can impact people’s lives and enhance their businesses… that’s a totally different mindset! 

5.  Last but not least, I’m learning that I can’t compare my driven-ness and contentment levels to others. Some people are MORE driven than I am and some are less driven. It’s impossible to gauge where I should be compared to others because they don’t live my life and they aren’t going to fulfill God’s plan for their life the same way I am. So it’s not fair for me to look at others and use their lives to determine what mine should look like. 

Once again, this is a post that wasn’t on the calendar for today. Today was supposed to be a recap of recent Coaching sessions!! That will come later. The blog post that prompted this post was one by Kristen Leigh.  Kristen is photographer who recently lost her mom to cancer and I followed Mama Bear’s story for months and somehow…. because of the beautiful way she writes, I felt like I was a part of the story. Kristen just posted a powerful explanation of how she now views life after having to say goodbye too soon to her mom. The balance of drive and contentment is different for everyone and I loved reading about how they are living life to the fullest right now.

So I hope I’m not the only one that has struggled with this!!  If this impacted one person, it was worth the time that it took to type all of this out. :)  Have an amazing weekend! I’m practicing the art of “balance” and we’re heading home for the weekend to be a part of another shower for my sister and her soon to be husband!! CRAZY!! Happy Friday!

And thanks Lauren for the pic of us at UNITED in Santa Barbara, CA!