The Pillow Test
There was a time in my life when I defined my day's success by how much money I made. And by "a time," that means 10+ years. For more than a decade, the measuring stick of success was measured in income, investment balances, titles, and net worth. After all, those are easy-to-read measuring sticks. It's easy to open an online bank portal and see a number in black and white.
Then, something changed within me. I realized none of that mattered. All of the measuring sticks I had been using for the past 10+ years were futile. They were something, but ultimately, nothing. That's when I developed "the pillow test."
Here's how the pillow test works. When I go to bed at night and lay my head on that pillow, I reflect on my day and determine whether I did everything I could to make an impact on the world and on others. If my answer is yes, I succeeded. If my answer is no, then I might not have. It's clearly not as objective as a black-and-white number on the screen, but it sure does make for a better assessment of my day.
I've had a few days recently where I made very little money, but through the lens of the pillow test, they were massive successes. Those days were filled with needle-moving encounters, and I'm prayerful that I served people in the ways they needed to be served. What's in it for me? Well, nothing, I suppose, but that wasn't the point. The point was to lie my head on the pillow at night and, hopefully, believe I had done everything I could to make an impact.
It's a different way to look at life, but I'll testify a better way. Does the pillow test pay the bills? No, not always. Sure, we need to pay the bills. We need to financially care for our families. That's true. Two thoughts on that:
When we serve others well, money usually follows. That doesn't necessarily mean a ton of money, but serving people well is the prerequisite to creating an income. They often go hand in hand.
When the dust settles, and we take our last breath, we most certainly won't be adding numbers in our head, trying to determine how much money we made. On the flip side, I think there's a strong chance we WILL be thinking about the possible impact we made on this world during the years we were blessed to be here. That distinction is worth considering.
I hope you think about this when you go to bed tonight. Regardless of how much or how little money you made today, did you make an impact? Did you serve others well? Did you move the needle in someone's world? If so, I don't care how much money you made; you won!
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