Slowing Down to Speed Up
by Jasmine Hall Ratliff
This summer, I did something I don't always do very well: I completely stepped away from work.
I traveled to Europe with my aunt and sister, and for that time, I really allowed myself to be away. I wasn't checking in on what was happening at Build Missouri Health or thinking about what needed to be done when I got back. I took a break. And it reminded me how important that is.
We talk a lot about hard work, particularly in the social sector. The issues we're working on are urgent. The needs are real. There is always more to do. But rest and work aren't opposites. We need both. Sometimes we have to slow down to speed up.
Taking a real break restored some of the mental energy that gets depleted when we're constantly moving from one thing to the next. And travel gave me something else: perspective. Being somewhere completely different, experiencing other places and ways of life, reminds you that it's a very big world out there. Sometimes getting outside our usual environment helps us come back with new energy, new questions and a different way of seeing what's possible.
That's particularly valuable to me right now. We're heading into a busy and exciting fall at BMH as we deepen our work as a fiscal sponsor and intermediary and continue building the infrastructure to better support community-led organizations across Missouri.
I traveled to Europe with my aunt and sister, and for that time, I really allowed myself to be away. I wasn't checking in on what was happening at Build Missouri Health or thinking about what needed to be done when I got back. I took a break. And it reminded me how important that is.
We talk a lot about hard work, particularly in the social sector. The issues we're working on are urgent. The needs are real. There is always more to do. But rest and work aren't opposites. We need both. Sometimes we have to slow down to speed up.
Taking a real break restored some of the mental energy that gets depleted when we're constantly moving from one thing to the next. And travel gave me something else: perspective. Being somewhere completely different, experiencing other places and ways of life, reminds you that it's a very big world out there. Sometimes getting outside our usual environment helps us come back with new energy, new questions and a different way of seeing what's possible.
That's particularly valuable to me right now. We're heading into a busy and exciting fall at BMH as we deepen our work as a fiscal sponsor and intermediary and continue building the infrastructure to better support community-led organizations across Missouri.
