If you're drowning, just RELAX! 

Every day we rise and set our minds on doing those things that we believe are necessary to our daily survival and our forward movement. Success, the world has told us, is achieved when we constantly position ourselves for BETTER; work hard, happily accept new responsibilities and challenges, meet and connect with as many people as possible, etc. Then we must support these hard work by maintaining and nourishing those connections and staying on the lookout for opportunity, even if it knocks at 5 a.m. or at midnight.

Some of the most celebrated ideas that tell us what to do to obtain success are:
-Work hard, and then work harder! 
-Success comes to those who are too busy to actually be looking for it! 
-The harder I work, the more luck I seem to have! 
-Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds! 
-There is simply no substitute for hard work when it comes to achieving a dream!
-If you have a dream, it is definitely achievable through hard work and sacrifice.!

Wow! I got tired just reading all of those.

Please don't get it twisted, I truly understand hard work. Nothing, and I mean Nothing has ever come my way by not producing or doing something. I serve as an instructor at three colleges and a university. I am a published author, ever aware of the pressure to produce that fourth book, that fifth book, and the one after that. I created and oversee a ministry that helps young adults navigate life by exploring who they are, why they were created and what amazing things they can accomplish. I also have a public relations company that I established in 2004, which is waiting to be re-launched,. I blog when I am discipline. I serve on an environmental board. I'm a public speaker and a workshop presenter.

I know that sounds familiar to a lot of you. Whew!

Somewhere though, between being all of that, plus a daughter, sister, friend, and pet-parent, I begin to answer my desire for an ever increasing level of spiritual focus, and a Holy spirit-led work ethic. I have begun to intentionally focus on thought patterns and habits that move me toward purpose fulfillment and that teach me when to move and how to move, and when to rest and be still.

Did you know that the worse thing you can do when you are drowning is to panic and flail about, trying to control what is happening? Experts tell us that our bodies will naturally float if we:

1. Yield
2. Relax
3. Put our bodies in an horizontal position
4. Look up to the sky and take a few deep breathes

Since our bodies are 72% water, it makes since that when we embrace who we are we not only survive, but we become more relaxed and at peace.

When you are overwhelmed, overworked and not seeing what you think should be coming to fruition in your life, just remember what to do when you are drowning. Don't panic. Be still. Place your body in a horizontal position and look up to the Creator. Take a few deep breaths, relax and allow God to lead you through a natural correction of your life's course.

Personal initiative is not and will never be a substitute for trust and reliance upon God. There is both power and security in God, and as we learn to "let down, cease or slacken" our efforts to fight in our own strength, we can acknowledge the power and security that our connection to God rewards us with. Life may let us down, but God won't let us drown.

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth."