When an empty schedule is a blank canvas
Starting something new is hard.
We’ve been told all of our lives that new endeavors are difficult, that relationships take work, that success is hard earned. And it’s true, if that’s how you approach things. The to do lists will never end, because we live in an expansive world that creates more opportunities for us every day. That’s a beautiful blessing and a curse if you aren’t sure how to rein it in.
Still, being in charge of your own schedule and time is difficult.
Sometimes, although to do lists are there, it can feel like your schedule is too empty of the things you love and enjoy. Like you aren’t growing fast enough. Like you’re behind. You’re spinning your wheels and completing tasks, and yet the schedule doesn’t feel full enough and doubt starts to creep in. Along with the doubt comes rapid burnout and frustration.
Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in my perceived ’emptiness’ of my schedule that I forget to see the bigger picture: that the expansive, unfilled space is just a blank canvas for me to create on.
That space is not a scary thing. It’s something I’ve created for myself to make messes in, to get dirty, to build relationships and have conversations in. To splash paint in beautiful and ugly colors all over. I can literally do whatever I want. It’s not empty-it’s blank. If I have four hours of unblocked time on my schedule for the day, that’s not failure. That’s success: because space and time to create and think is what I want most right now.
Empty makes us feel defeated and burnt out, and blank grants us permission to let loose and create. Which will you choose today in your moment of overwhelm?
