There’s Plenty of Time.

We’re not tired. We’re anxious.

For as long as I can remember, time has felt like an enemy. Or, at the very least, not on my side.

Maybe it started with my dad waking us up before sunrise, trying to get everything done before the world woke up, the traffic jammed, and the stores crowded. Maybe it was the urgency-obsessed culture of PR, where everything was due yesterday, and the highest praise was getting something to a client before they even knew it existed. Or maybe it was the constant talk in church as a kid of the “last days” which was supposed to make us want to get right with the Lord only to make me more paranoid I wouldn’t have time to get there.

At some point, time became a source of anxiety.

No matter how much time I had, it never felt like enough. Not enough time to write this Substack. Not enough time to finish my work. And even on days when my schedule was open, I caught myself wondering—Do I have enough time?

The Fear of Running Out of Time

This hit me recently while preparing for a client visit at BestWork. My mornings normally start early - prayer, “becoming” worksheet, morning tasks. I love having a steady rhythm for my days. But this day was different. There was more to do to prepare for our guests who were meeting us at our house: dishes to wash…snacks and drinks to pick up…did anyone feed the dogs?

In the midst of this, I felt a feeling I almost didn’t recognize. I hadn’t felt it in a while, but there it was. Anxiety had crept in.

That false urgency. The invisible walls closing in. The belief that I didn’t have enough time.

But when I stopped and really asked myself, What am I actually afraid of?—I realized, it wasn’t time. It was the fear of being punished.

• Was I afraid of not looking prepared?

• Was I afraid of disappointing someone?

• Was I afraid that if I didn’t execute everything flawlessly, something bad would happen?

This reminded me of a verse I came across recently that said “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

There it was.

The Mantra That Changed Everything

Back to the morning of the client's visit. The anxiety welled up inside of me and I immediately became agitated. As we began to pray before our meeting, I felt convicted to speak it out loud. I shared the feeling with my friend and business partner Maya Watson who said to me in such a calm voice: “there’s plenty of time.”

I was taken aback. I couldn’t help but recall the times I’d overestimated how much time I needed—to write, to exercise, to finish a report, to show up to a party, to get ready for bed. Too many times I’d realize that I actually had plenty of time and even if I thought I was late, I was actually on time.

Fast forward to this morning. It was a slower morning - I woke up early, prayed, had coffee, grabbed breakfast. I stopped by two coffee shops to do some work, but every seat was already filled. I sat in my car, I listened to a podcast, I thought I’d come back home, then I remembered I needed to go to the grocery store. I walked out the store and placed my bags in the trunk. Only to realize I’d forgotten bread.

As I was walking out of Whole Foods for a second time, I noticed a pace in my step, my heart was racing and that’s when I was blessed with the reminder that immediately slowed my pace, my breath, and even my thoughts about what I had to do when I got home: there’s plenty of time.

There’s plenty of time.

Someone might say, What do you mean? Time is limited. We only get so much of it.

And that’s one way to look at it.

But there’s another way.

Adrienne Maree Brown said it this way in Emergent Strategy:

There is always enough time for the right work.

Sometimes, the right work isn’t checking another task off the list. Sometimes, the right work is wandering into a new coffee shop at the wrong time just to remind yourself what time not to go. Sometimes, the right work is prepping for a meeting and remembering your work isn't catering. Sometimes, the right work is rushing out of a Whole Foods on a Friday morning, then stopping to take a breath and reminding yourself that there is plenty of time.

I Don’t Want to Make Life Harder Than It Needs to Be

While on my drive home from the grocery store, I started this Substack as a voice note. No overcomplication. No unnecessary stress. Just a reminder of something I wanted to share with you all in real time. Something that helped me.

Because I don’t want to overcomplicate my life anymore.

I don’t want to create problems that don’t exist.

I don’t want to move with unnecessary urgency.

I don’t want to make things harder than they need to be.

Because they’re not.

And in my world—back in my dominion, back in my power, back in my authority, back in my BAG—we live by a new belief: there’s always enough time.

And maybe all of our world starts to become that way.

Love y’all,
Kevin