It was early January. I was sitting on a sun-splashed beach in southwest Florida, feeling rested, reflective, and relaxed heading into a new year.

That moment was six weeks ago. But it feels like six months ago. 

The reason? Busyness.

I’m not sure how it happened, but the pace of life quickly got away from me in 2025. I see it in my sleep patterns. I see it in my constant, low-grade anxiety. I see it in my impatience with the people closest to me. I see it in my short breaths and the way I hurriedly walk between meetings. 

That’s the bad news. 

The good news? 

I’ve been down this path before and I’ve learned a few things about how to make a necessary course correction. 

Here are the four practices I’m recommitting to:

1. Sabbath - One day each week where my focus turns to rest and reflection–not accumulation and accomplishment. 

2. Solitude - For me, this happens early in the morning with the house quiet and my Bible open. 

3. Sleep - I’m not one of those people who can survive on five or less hours of sleep. For me, it’s gotta be at least seven hours, and ideally eight. 

4. Sweat - Exercise has a “cleansing” effect on me; I always feel calmer and more centered afterward. 

In truth, there is a fifth — outdoor walks. But I couldn’t bear to mess with the nice alliteration I had going there. (Forgive me, it’s the former preacher in me.)

In case you can’t tell, I’m primarily writing this newsletter as a reminder to myself. But perhaps it gives you an excuse to take stock of your year and discern if you need to slow things down a bit, as well.

Whether that’s the case now or has been in the past, I’m curious:

1. What causes life to speed up on you?

2. What helps you slow it back down?

A thought from a fellow traveler

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – reading your responses is my favorite part of doing the newsletter. When you stop responding, I’ll take that as my cue to stop writing.

One reader resonated with the way I framed “a fresh commitment to the same thing” in the last newsletter. As he expounded, there are times when “staying on the same path is a proactive, willful decision, not simply an avoidance of change.” I think he’s right – an important distinction. 

Carry on fellow travelers, we’ll talk soon.