Subject: Write about it, please.

Message: The feeling that you have to finish everything at once.

Response:

It sounds like we have a lot in common.

Most days I am tempted to believe that I have to finish everything that I have started.

Let me guess, you also think you’re behind?

You probably, from time to time, believe everyone else is doing better than you?

You have a hard time enjoying what’s in front of you?

You probably even have those days where you think that what you do doesn’t even matter?

I get that.

What I am about to tell you is what I have been telling myself for the last year:

It doesn’t have to all be finished today, you can come back to it tomorrow.

God taught me this.

It took Him 6 days to create the world.

Need another example?

It took Leonardo DaVinci 4 years to paint the Mona Lisa.

It took J.R.R. Tolkien 12 years to write the Lord of the Rings (but one website said 17 years, so who really knows? But we all can agree it didn’t happen at once.)

The Golden Gate Bridge took a little over 4 years and 4 1/2 months to build.

It took Michael Jordan 7 seasons to win his first championship.

Good things don’t happen at once.

You didn’t happen at once either.

Day by day you have been growing and changing and becoming.

Life, like good things, takes time.

And a good life is lived when you give yourself time to savor it.

Sometimes I forget that life is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to enjoy.

It is not a competition.

Slow down.

Breathe deep.

Let go. 

It doesn’t have to all be finished today, you can come back to it tomorrow.

Do you have a question you’d like for me to answer?
Click the button below to send in your question anonymously!

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.