When you think about your purpose, priorities, personality and pace, what does the design of your day and rhythm of life look like?

Are those areas harmonizing well or is there some friction or conflict in the mix? We’re all works in progress and this isn’t a quiz but if you’re like me, you do some uncomfortably honest but necessary self-evaluation from time to time. Since we have a tendency to wander and get into patterns, it’s healthy to examine our hearts, scan our surroundings and get our bearings to make sure we’re on the right track. Sometimes, we can concentrate on developing one muscle group at the expense of another, or get so caught up on creative waves that we can compromise health and wellness or study chasing dollars over being of service and encouragement to others.

Living with purpose helps us get things in perspective and adjust our priorities and pace to match. If there’s a lot of ‘traffic’ in our lives and minds, it can make the overall picture cloudy and distorted. Just like being in traffic on the road can trigger impatience, decision regret, road rage, confusion and conflict while gobbling up time and energy, it can do the same in our lives. Living at full speed non-stop has its own set of results – the blur of activities and accolades can impress others yet take a toll on us or try to distract us from purpose, if we’re not observant.

Our pace of life can influence our quality of life.

The contents and settings of our lives may be completely different, so the refreshing activities shared at the end of this post may or may not work well for you, but in case you could do with some ideas that inspire deep breaths, and reflective, refreshing moments, keep on reading or scroll to see.

Ever had a drawer that was so packed you avoided clearing it out for longer than you meant to? It’s possible – but tougher to overcome things when we let them get to a state that’s overwhelming.

After taking a break from travel (30 destinations), living with a hustle-mindset as a musician, and overcoming insomnia, I was called to get purposefully quiet and this blog was launched in March 2013…to an audience of 1. Since then, it has reached readers in more than 90 countries. Life went from spending a lot of time on the road and in vocal booths (with beach & dance class in between) to living on a farm in the countryside, growing food and hiking regularly for 6 years. Now on a travel journey in the U.K. balancing cooking, housework, blogging and nature walks with songwriting, recording and rehearsing.

A big thing I’m grateful for is the grace to make healthy change in pace and improved quality of life that freed up more gifted time for what matters most, while being mostly at home. Time outside the home is more purposeful. Now quiet time, nature walks, writing marathons, gardening, editing and home cooking aren’t things to be squeezed into the day; they’re essential to how God designed me and just as enjoyable as being in the studio or onstage.

What kind of refreshing activities harmonize sweetly with who you are created and called to be? Don’t be rough with or critical of yourself if you don’t remember or they’re not in the picture right now. Think about it and take a step closer towards walking in purpose and recognizing the design of the beautiful, unique creation you are. By the way, as you list the things to add, make sure to identify the things to release.

Pace yourself well, sis.

You are not created to be an ox, a workhorse or a robot. You are a living, breathing, perfectly-loved creation with a purpose.

Here are those ideas (with matching blog posts):

The Healthy and Therapeutic Habit Of Going On Nature Walks

Re-setting the pace and volume of your life for the better

Spice-Up Your Homecooking Journey

Thanks for coming by and reading today’s post. Your visit to itsjoywithin.com means a lot. If you would like to support this blog and beyond, the PayPal email address is itsjoywithin@gmail.com – thanks very much and hope to see you in the next post.