S02 E05: When Your Capacity Changes

Capacity isn’t just about what you can do — it’s about how you think, how you process, and how you carry life as you grow. In this episode of Poised for Purpose, Tabitha J breaks down the different types of capacity we rarely talk about: mental, emotional, seasonal, identity, and purpose-driven capacity. Because your pace has to evolve when you evolve.

Allow this conversation to help you understand why you don’t have the bandwidth you used to, and then choose a pace that actually aligns with your current season.

Thanks for listening to Poised for Purpose with Tabitha J.

✨ Let’s Stay Connected!
📲 Social: @TheTabithaJ on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
💬 Love what you heard? Share it with a friend + tag @TheTabithaJ — and don’t forget to rate and review!
📥 Booking & Inquiries: admin@tabithaj.com

#PoisedForPurpose #VoiceOfStrategy

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:04

Hey everybody, and happy Monday! You're listening to Poise for Purpose, the space where calling meets clarity and faith meets function. I'm your host, Tabitha J, the voice of strategy and purpose, helping you build with grace, live with intention, and grow into the person you're becoming. So today's topic is one that sneaks up on us, but it impacts everything. And that's this question: What do you do when your capacity changes? So in preparing for this one, I had to really kind of run through my mind the ways that we look at capacity. And being the task-oriented society that we are, I noticed that we align it a lot with energy, with that physical energy. But it's not just about how much you can handle in a day. Capacity is mental, capacity is emotional, capacity is seasonal, it's identity-based, and capacity is actually purpose-driven. So all of these exists, and all of them shift, but the problem is we try to operate the same even when it's shifting in us. We're not the same. So I tend to always, you know, try to align one of my own experiences with it. So there was this season, of course, where I kept trying to move at a pace that used to work for me. A younger pace, a busier pace. This superwoman pace. Ladies, you know what that is. And not because it was still healthy, but because it was simply my routine. It was familiar. Until I was feeling this drag, and I thought I was being burned out and you know, needing a break and all of that, but it really hit me one day that I wasn't burned out. Because no matter what I did, it still felt exhausting in that season. And I had to learn that the problem was I was out of alignment with my new capacity. So I had to make peace with the fact that my shift and my feeling wasn't failure, it was one of maturity, it was growth, it was my mind asking me to operate in a new rhythm. So just know that you don't honor your purpose by trying to push through old patterns and stay with it because you thought it worked. You actually honor your purpose by recognizing when your capacity has changed and you adjust accordingly. So back to talking about these different facets of capacity. Let's break this down strategically because our understanding should always come before our action plan, right? So mental capacity, let's deal with that one. Simply, what that is, your thought space changes. What your mind could juggle at 25 is not what it can or should juggle now. You know now that your piece is more expensive, your focus more intentional, right? So then there's emotional capacity. And yeah, a lot of us can relate to this one. You just simply don't have the bandwidth for the same type of conversations, the same conflicts, and the same type of chaos. And you gotta be okay with that. That's not being overly sensitive, that's what I'd like to call emotional stewardship. Then, seasonal capacity, and that's simply life shifting. Your family needs, they shift, your responsibilities, they absolutely shift, and you can't carry every season the same way. Next, identity capacity, and that's just along with growth. Certain things naturally fall off. Those old habits, those old patterns of validation, and old roles that you used to play. So the person that you're becoming, it now requires a new pace. Then, last but not least, purpose capacity. Sometimes, this is funny, sometimes your capacity increases, not for more tasks, but for deeper impact. And other times it decreases to make room for better processing and understanding. And the key to all of these actually is recognizing the difference. So I know I've dropped a lot of information for you, but with all of those things being said, I'll just summarize it with something that you should probably reflect on for this week. Ask yourself, where has your capacity shifted and have you updated your expectations to match it? So then with that, you ask yourself, do I need a new pace? Do I need to put out a new boundary? Or do I need a new way of organizing my mind? And then you can ask yourself, okay, is this a season to expand or a season to conserve? Because at the end of the day, you cannot become who you're called to be if you're forcing yourself to function like who you used to be. So when your capacity changes, it's a good thing, it's not a setback. That's your inner strategy. Accept it and take the steps you can to take it to its optimum level. Be sure to follow the show so you don't miss next week's episode. And that one is called The Weight of Being the Strong One. And also for my ministry leaders, pastors, and those that are serving in spaces of faith, don't forget that our ministry leaders edition drops every Thursday with deeper empowerment just for you. That's it, folks. Until next time, keep walking it out and stay poised for purpose.