Here is everything you need to know about this cozy corner of Substack. Obligatory hellos and intros if you will.
Name: Sarah Irene Kruzel
Profession(s): External Events Coordinator (for our church), Mother’s Day Out, Child Care Floater, Creative Media Strategist (freelance), Writer (Substack).
Message: Taking the pressure off in all areas of life. That every time you read my words online, you would get curious about your own life and where pressure might be stealing from you. That you would feel encouraged in your creativity and authenticity.
Voice: Cozy. Think sweatpants on my couch, sipping hot tea in a pottery mug and talking about everything that makes our lives full. We’d probably start with frill and end up somewhere in the deep end.
Key Players: You may need to know that I am married, my husband’s name is Danny. You may also need to know that I am originally from Michigan and moved to Nashville around three and a half years ago. You may need to know we are in full-time ministry and our church is a huge part of our life.
Where Else: I am on Instagram, but I am currently working on figuring out what I want that space to be. Historically, I have loved social media, and making Instagram work for other people is definitely a niche of mine, but I am also starting to take steps back from it in my own life. Stay tuned for more words on that, maybe. I have a website and a creative portfolio. If you ever need those, send me a DM! Also randomly I get a lot of views on Pinterest so if you are in your antisocial media era but keeping Pinterest and Substack follow me here!
I want to start off this year by reminding myself and maybe explicitly telling you for the first time, what I am about over here. I wrote this manifesto of sorts at the end of 2023 and have tweaked it here and there as the messaging around “take the pressure off” has become more clear. This manifesto grounds my writing and is what I hope to be a rallying cry for you as encouragement in this pressure-free life.
The Manifesto:
Taking the pressure off roots us in the truth that life’s curves and bumps don’t have to throw us when we are used to looking for richness in present moments. Being fully engaged in today is our birthright.
We don’t operate from ideal versions of the future but look for glimpses of Heaven right now.
We are confident that if all we did today was rest in our identities as daughters of the Most High that it would be enough.
We choose the honest route; the path of not trying to be someone we aren’t.
We may feel the pressures of expectations, deadlines, our families, and our own internal voices, but we are assured that by taking the pressure off, we make more room for joy, celebration, delight, and whimsy to be key players in the desire to live in life’s fullness.
We know we don’t earn these beautiful attributes by performance or by striving, but we have access to them today, however today goes.
It’s luxurious because the enemy doesn’t steal things that aren’t of high value. It’s ordinary because practice makes perfect. May we breathe in His grace and remember that it is wild worship to throw off the snares of pressure that so easily entangle us.
This is our manifesto.
2025 Priorities
I have heard it said that if you have more than 4-5 priorities, you actually don’t have any at all. New Year’s Resolutions and Goal Setting has looked a bit different for me this year. In OCTOBER of 2024 (yes literally October) I started thinking about 2025. Historically I have been a big goals, sweeping vision girly but as January got closer I didn’t have much steam.
So I fell back on priorities that have grounded me and then filled in vision under them. These 4 priorities have remained the same for the last two years and if I am honest I don’t really see them changing. Sometimes I ask myself, “well what about room for…” (friendship, budgeting, cleaning our house etc.) but when I take the pressure off myself I realize that these are all fruits of the priorities I am about to list. When I am Spiritually Healthy, when my marriage is invested in, when I am taking care of my physical health, and when I am investing in creativity all the rest falls into place. Almost everything under each of these priorities are “continuation goals” meaning nothing major is different but I am continuing to work towards health in specific ways in each category.
Taking the pressure off this New Year doesn’t mean you won’t work hard, try something major, or have drive towards something out of your comfort zone. It does mean that you get to decide what matters to YOU without a trillion voices telling you what to prioritize. You get to pick the honest route. The route that looks most like you. Because looking and feeling and living exactly as you were created to is worship. Walking as the daughter that you are honors the Creative work of our very good God.
Journal Prompts for further reflection:
What am I prioritizing right now? What do I want to prioritize this year? What needs to stay, what needs to be edited from the list?
What lies am I believing about pressure, striving, proving or performing? What truth might combat each lie the best?
Where can I take the pressure off more? What has happened in the past when I have taken the pressure off? What do I hope taking the pressure off might do for me at the start of this year?
For Paid subscribers -
New Year Planning Sheets (PDF)
The podcast I recorded in October when I was really excited about goal setting with lots of practical ideas about approaching goal setting (25 minutes)
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Taking The Pressure Off to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.