Pressure

Ever hear the saying, “Pressure turns coal into diamonds”?

Sometimes, I wish we could skip the pressure and just show up as diamonds. When I was younger, those lines motivated me: “Bring the pressure — I want to grow!” But now, when adversity shows up, my response is a lot more measured: “Yeah, I’ll handle it — but I’m not asking for it.”

There’s no perfect job with zero pressure. I’ve imagined what that would look like, but that’s just not realistic. What is real, though, is that pressure isn’t 24/7. Pressure from six hours ago can linger, and pressure from 12 hours ahead tries to sneak in early — but I get to choose. I can let past pressure stay in the past and future pressure stay in the future. We don’t have to carry it all at once.

How do you personally let go of pressure that isn’t yours to hold right now?