Overcoming Busyness in Business: Strategy 4 – Find Peace
Updated: Jan 21, 2021
My wife and I ran into big problems in our marriage because I worked so darn much. Day and night, 25 hours a day, 8 days a week (that’s right, I worked so much I created days that didn’t exist).
I think it’s a combination of 1) knowing there’s still a lot to be done to grow the business and putting in more time will get it done, 2) workaholics syndrome I inherited from mom, 3) wanting to prove my worth to my father by how much I work, 4) if I was broke, at least I was working and that felt good, and 5) sometimes I just wanted to escape home life and working is a safe refuge.
All of these above excuses are lies that the enemy has lead me to believe. Each statement above can be a whole chapter in a book.
Working hard isn’t the problem. Not resting is the issue.
We entrepreneurs do have a lot of work, we do have great responsibilities, we do not follow the normal 9-5 schedule, but we’re also smarter than the average Joe and need to understand the tricks of the super successful who seem to be able to manufacture time at will.
How can we beat the system and create more time? The answer is a contradiction of the mind: find a day of rest.
In Mark 2:25-28
"Jesus said, “Really? Haven’t you ever read what David did when he was hungry, along with those who were with him? How he entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, with the Chief Priest Abiathar right there watching—holy bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat—and handed it out to his companions?” Then Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath. He’s in charge!”
I used to cringe when I heard the pastors preach about taking a full day of rest. I imagined me sitting on a couch doing nothing for 24 hours and freaking out as if in an insane asylum.
Worst is that I thought I was being a “bad Christian” for not taking a day off. So then I would force myself to not work just to honor the day as if to say “ok God, I did it, are you proud of me?…” See how even on the Sabbath I was still working for someone’s approval?
The Sabbath isn’t an item on the Christian checklist of things that make God like you more. The Sabbath is a day where you rest to RECHARGE, REBOOT, REJUVENATE, and RELAX.
Imagine you’re working out at the gym. Don’t you ‘rest’ between sets of exercises? This time of rest actually strengthens you and you do even better the next set! That’s how taking a day of rest works.
We entrepreneurs need to be very conscious about taking this full day of rest so that our ideas for the following week ahead of us are at 100% and we’re full of the energy we need to tackle the challenges and excitement of owning a business.
Your Entrepreneur Compass,
Do you think you’ll be bored on your rest day? Here are 5 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Do on the Weekends.
Comment below with some ideas on things you do on your rest day.