Changing the Narrative:

Departing Survival Mode and Arriving at the intersection between Peace and Intention.

Beginnings Are Hard.

For a long time, I thought survival was the goal.

Move fast. Say yes to everything. Keep producing just enough to stay afloat. But I never slowed down long enough to see if I was even swimming in the right direction. It just felt like I was.

Survival mode felt like strength. In reality, it was exhaustion in disguise.

I became fluent in chaos. Schedules full of things I didn’t enjoy. The rooms I was in were only because I felt like I should be there. Consuming more than I created; content, opinions, expectations, until I could barely hear my own voice. Whew.

The Hard Truth.

But here’s the truth I had to learn the hard way:

You can’t write your best story in survival mode.

You can only repeat the last chapter over and over.

The narrative changed for me when I started choosing peace over performance. And that only happened when I finally listened to God and moved out of my comfort zone, New York City.

What started as a tug at my shirt five years ago became a full-blown pre-collapse of an empire, all because I was being stubborn.

Now, I’m being quite dramatic, but when God starts beating you up for not listening, that’s what it feels like.

It was also when I realized that my growth and future were on the line if I continued down the same path.

So, I made the toughest decision ever. I left.

Now, in Part 2, I’ll get a little more specific, because I know the importance of not just telling the story, but for many to hear it. Deeply knowing that I may have obeyed the signs earlier had I come in contact with the perfect words to sum up my situation.

I also want to be clear that this is not a push for anyone to leave their current location, but it is my plea to observe the mode you’re in and figure out if it’s blocking your growth.

Because I’m currently in a place where I know that producing on my terms wasn’t the same as hustling for approval.

And when I became more intentional about what I consumed and more protective over what I created, peace entered the chat.

So, I’m more mindful that although my days went from “making it through” to simply making. I’m not really of the community if I don’t share the wealth (of knowledge).

So please join me as I focus on making moments, making meaningful work, and making room for myself in my own life. All while spreading (and receiving) that good gospel to the many brilliant creatives who choose to consume and produce through this platform.

I hope you’ll subscribe, or tell a friend or two.

And remember that peace isn’t passive, it’s active.

It’s deciding, every day, that the story you’re telling is worth reading.

And when the old chapter tries to pull you back?

You write something better. ;-)

-Rae Holliday

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