In my work world, where I make online classes to teach people business writing skills, I constantly preach slowing down.
Why do I preach slowing down? Because a lot of sloppy business writing happens when people are just going too fast. We have this cult of busy-ness in our society that says we have to always be doing and so we’re dashing off emails willy nilly and hurrying through writing blog posts and hurrying through all kinds of writing at work. And then we don’t communicate clearly and we only make more work for ourselves.
So I’m constantly recommending to people that they slow down. I even wrote a blog post on ways to slow down your life so you can slow down your writing your work.
For me, I’ve long prided myself on adhering to not being sucked into that cult of busy-ness. Back when clients wanted me to use instant messenger, I quickly learned that no, that was just too distracting. And then later it was Slack and I said no to that too. I ignored work emails during evening and weekends.
But then with some health issues I’ve been going through, I figured out that I never applied that principle to my life on the farm. As prideful as I was about not being caught up in corporate craziness in my work world, I just took that cult of busy-ness and I made it how I approach the farm instead, with the cows and the horses and the garden and the dogs and the chickens and everything else that we are trying to get going here starting a small farm.
And then I had my awakening.
I’ve been suffering from chronic nausea for years—literally since we bought this place—and so I finally met with a naturopath to see what help I could get. She listened to me talk for about 20 minutes. Then she looked at me and told me she could tell just by listening to me that I spend all my time in fight or flight and no time in rest and digest.
Does your stomach ever knot up when you hear a big truth being spoken and you know in your core that it’s true? Yeah. That’s what happened.
Her recommendation was so simple. She suggested that I sit down to eat (something I don’t do unless my husband is home) and then I stay sitting for 20 minutes. That is my rest and digest.
Oh my gosh. That one change means I haven’t had nausea since the day of my appointment with her. And I have an appetite again for the first time in years.
This is a huge change in my life. Except it’s not the only change. It’s bigger than that.
Why? Because now this turns into self-examination. I have to look at why do I have to be so busy, why do I have to be so productive, and it gets into this lack of self-worth and the fact that I have to be doing things all the time to prove that I have value.
I said above that I avoided this in my work world, but that wasn’t always true. There was a time when I was part of the cult of busy-ness, carrying around my Blackberry (remember those?) and keeping it next to the bed so I was answering emails at 6:00 a.m. I was a self-employed single mom and people called me the Energizer Bunny because I was always busy doing things, like being the Cub Scout den leader and running and cooking from scratch. And my sense of self-worth came from being that busy. (I likely did some damage to my kids too because of all that, but that’s another story.)
As the kids got older, I managed to step away from that, to recognize I didn’t want to be part of the corporate craziness. But all I did was step into applying the same principles of long to-do lists and days that are far too full to our farm life instead.
So it’s a bigger journey than learning how to slow down and rest and digest because it’s a journey that involves learning to love myself. (Oh my gosh, it’s even hard to type those words.) I have to learn to believe myself worthy, learn to believe myself lovable, even if I’m not getting a bunch of stuff done.
This drive to prove my worth through productivity and long to-do lists has been my experience my whole life. And maybe one of the biggest lessons I’m going to learn from being on the farm is to finally get to a point of acceptance with myself that I’m OK as I am even if I only get three things done in a day instead of 33.

Lucky for me, this new awareness I have of my surroundings will help me slow down. Whether it’s learning about the bird sounds around me with my bird app, noticing a salamander on the trail, or hanging out with a newborn calf, this life offers countless opportunities to slow down and savor (and even to spot a spider catching a fly on the underside of a daisy!).
So, yes, I have reasons and opportunities to slow down, but still, I will struggle with justifying it.
Now, why am I telling you all of this? Because whoever you are and wherever you are in your life, I want you to also know that you have value and worth, even if you go against the cultural norm and you slow down your life. Maybe you aren’t trying to start a small farm, but you’re doing something else, and you are okay if you go at a reasonable pace. You are okay if you quit social media and always being busy. You are okay to slow down.
Because—like me—you too are lovable and worthy, despite your to-do list.
And that’s all for now.
This. Is. The. Best!! I am so happy to read this and know that you’re really connecting to the person God created you to be. I love that you are letting go of the busy and can practice being in the moment, every moment. Biggest Hugs and kudos. Also, I love that you’re writing and getting out what’s in your heart and on your mind!
Thank you for continuing to push and encourage me! And I do believe you were the one who called me the Energizer Bunny.
Sharon,you are speaking to my heart with your blog and all of your observations. Thank you, I appreciate you.
Birgit, you made my day!! I am glad it resonates you. And I appreciate YOU.