Written by Samantha Royer: Founder of She Is Bold, Marketing Strategist, mentor,  mama X3.

You’re not wasting your time if what you’re doing is for God.

The truth:”With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort. 1 Corinthians 15:58

The lie: “I’m wasting my time.”

Ladies, can you imagine what life would be like if you were truly confident knowing that anything you do for Him is not a waste of time or effort??

Whether it’s the busyness of the mundane house chores, the never-ending tasks you don’t like doing in your biz, or even if it’s just resting– NONE of it is a waste of time or effort when you do it for The Lord.

Let me tell how you this lie impacted my 2018 for a second. As I reflected on things that went well for my business in 2018, I made extra sure to spend even more time on the things that did NOT go well so I could be intentional about not repeating those same things in 2019. I spent even more time this year asking myself :

What are 3 main questions I can ask myself to intentionally avoid things that did NOT work for my business?

This is what I came up with:

1. What are my biggest regrets?
2. What did I learn from the “bad” (ie: hangups, times I was stuck, non-profitable activities, and any other disappointments or behaviors that led to unachieved goals or set backs.)
3. What impact did the “bad” have not just on my business, but my family and life?

 

Because I want to cultivate just as much intention for avoiding things that didn’t work just as much as I cultivate intention for repeating those things that did! 

From that list, I use what my favorite goal planner, Powersheets, calls a “thread” which are basically common themes and words that appear while you’re reflecting.  Throughout almost every “bad” thing I wrote down for 2018 I came up with this prominent theme:

fear of wasting my time.

I looked back on things I regretted like:

• Holding up launching new products until I had every word, graphic, and marketing plan perfectly in place before sharing with the world…because I thought anything less than perfect would be a waste…
• Refraining from more Instagram stories even though I *knew* the facts say that the majority of Instagram users consume content through their stories. (I feared my one or two stories wouldn’t matter anyways…)  
• Not trying something new for the pure sake of creativity–fearful that I would be wasting time …
• Not changing my business direction because I was fearful that I would do it and it wouldn’t be successful— thinking it would be “a total waste of time” that our family couldn’t afford…

And deeper than “my biggest fear is wasting my time” was even more specific:

I was really fearful of no one actually caring about what I just poured my time into, that others wouldn’t be as excited as me, and that ultimately those ideas wouldn’t make me money. The worst part? I realized that all year I had this belief that  I *had* to work on 100% of the marketing things that showed an immediate ROI or somehow I was being a bad business owner and being simultaneously irresponsible to my family. #lie

Ugh, can you relate???

Have you ever thought that if your design wasn’t pretty enough it would be a waste of time to put out into the world? Or wanted to try a new strategy but you just couldn’t because you were fearful of wasting your time and it not being fruitful??

Friends, nothing we do for Him is a waste of time. Taking time off to rest for Him isn’t a waste of time. Trying something new for Him isn’t a waste of time.

I can’t imagine if I didn’t surrender a new service launch for starting She Is Bold.

I can’t imagine if I didn’t invest the energy into trying something new even if I didn’t know what the outcome was going to actually be.

If I never pressed through my fear that the She Is Bold “passion project” would be a waste of time, She Is Bold would never exist!

I realized, God didn’t make me a creative just to be a successful creativepreneur, but to also create for sake of creating for Him–and that’s never a waste of my time.

So what’s my plan moving forward??  Here’s some things I’m doing more routinely.

1. Make sure my to-do list is aligned with God. Chat with him DAILY about my to-do’s and ask Him to reveal anything that shouldn’t be on there.
2. Ask myself: “Is this for me or for God?” and “Is this fear-based or love-based?”. Scratch off anything fear-based or YOU-based and seek new direction and clarity for tasks for Him.
3. When I get stuck or feel like I’m not making progress on my goals, I step back and check in on #1 and #2 listed above. If I find my tasks are driven by fear of wasting my time (or any other fear!) I repent and go back to the drawing board with The Lord. I put my new tasks down and most importantly– get accountability! Because walking in faith is no doubt still scary. (Reason #37,898 why I started this community!)

 

These things have already helped me to have God at the center of my business decisions for the day and even throughout when I find myself stuck or worried!

These steps won’t ensure perfection nor will they eliminate all fear moving forward, but you can rest assured when your to-do list and goals are for God that you can “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

Imagine the possibilities. Imagine what passion project you would pursue. Imagine what creativity you would express or what new “bold” movement could be born.

Now, it’s your turn.

Is there anything you didn’t do in 2018 because you were fearful of it being a waste of time, not making money, or no one caring? List them out.

Do you get resentful of doing any of your current work because you’re NOT doing one of those things you listed? Circle it. Could this be something that you’re called to? Something you’ve been wanting to do for God but fear it would be a waste?

Write it all down and seek His direction for prioritizing your revamped to-do list or new goals.

Swipe this prayer:

Lord, this is your business, not mine. The gifts and talents you have given me are to be stewarded for your Glory, not my own. Help me to remember that when I’m fearful that “no one will care”, that my new business idea won’t make money, or that I “can’t” create for pure creativity sake- that I’m not wasting any of my time if it is for You. Give me the peace and strength to pursue all that you have laid on my heart according to your will.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

PS. We want to know what “thing” you’ve been putting off because you feel like it’s wasting your time? Comment below and let us know and if you haven’t already make sure to join our free membership where we chat about these exact sort of things in our private community and get accountability with other like-minded Christian women entrepreneurs.💃