Week 1: ROOT — Interactive Workbook

“Pressure • Capacity • Hidden Stress” — journal deeper & cement what God is revealing.

← Back to Week 1
Scripture for today
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”
— Psalm 55:22 (ESV)

Day 1: Name the Weight

Today is about honesty. You can’t heal what you hide, and you can’t lay down what you refuse to name.

1. Morning Heart Check

Slow down for 2 minutes. Ask: “What is heavy on me right now?”

Your life may look “handled,” but your soul may be overdrawn. Hidden weight often shows up as irritability, tired obedience, performance for approval, or quiet resentment. Write without editing — family, money, leadership, marriage, fatherhood, ministry, silent expectations.

2. Deeper Diagnostic

Some of what you wrote is legitimate calling. Some of it is assumed responsibility. God’s yoke is light — the counterfeit yoke is noisy and rushed.

3. Micro-Tasks for Today

Complete at least 2.

Evening Reflection

What surprised you about your list? Which “strong” area felt weaker when you wrote it down?

Scripture for today
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...”
— Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Day 2: Examine Your Beliefs

Weight stays when beliefs stay. Today we ask: “What story makes me carry more than God asked?”

1. The Pressure Script

Most men carry a secret line: “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done.” or “Real men don’t rest.” or “My value is in what I produce.” That’s not Kingdom — that’s culture.

2. Where did I learn that?

Beliefs are inherited — from fathers, coaches, churches, trauma, or wins. To uproot, you have to locate.

3. Micro-Tasks for Today

Pick 2–3. These are belief interrupters.

Evening Reflection

Which belief felt hardest to challenge — the one about God, or the one about you?

Scripture for today
“Let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely...”
— Hebrews 12:1 (ESV)

BONUS: Release Ritual (Margin Mapping)

Do this after Day 2 or before Day 3. We’re creating space for God to plant something new.

1. Map your current load

Draw 4 columns on paper (or imagine them here): Must carry · Should carry · Could carry · Not mine. We’re moving items down and off.

2. Sacred Let-Go

Pick one item from “Should” or “Not mine.” Have a 1–2 sentence release prayer.

3. Micro-Tasks

After the Ritual

What space do you feel now — mental, emotional, spiritual?

Scripture for today
“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
— John 8:32 (KJV)

Day 3: Trace the Source

Today we ask, “Who taught me to carry like this?” Roots explain weight.

1. Origin Story Work

Think of your home growing up: was rest celebrated or shamed? Was asking for help normal or weak? Did men talk about pressure?

2. Is it still true?

Some rules were for survival in a past season. Obeying them now is what’s causing the fatigue.

3. Micro-Tasks

Pick 2.

Evening Reflection

What pattern have you been repeating that didn’t start with you?

Scripture for today
“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
— 1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)

Day 4: Practice Release

Release is not a feeling — it’s a practice. Today we rehearse letting go.

1. Identify Today’s Burden

From Day 1’s list, pick 1 weight. Not all 10. Just 1. God deals in today’s portion.

2. Embodied Release

Our bodies remember stress. So we involve them.

3. Prayer of Exchange

God doesn’t just take weight — He gives rest.

Evening Reflection

Did the burden try to come back? What triggered it? How will you release again tomorrow?

Scripture for today
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

Day 5: Assess Your Capacity

Limits aren’t failure. They’re design. We honor God by honoring how He built us.

1. Honesty Audit

There’s who you think you should be, and there’s your actual current capacity. Capacity changes by season.

2. Boundary Setting Micro-Tasks

Pick at least 2.

Evening Reflection

How did it feel to admit your limits — shameful or freeing?

Scripture for today
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
— Psalm 46:10 (ESV)

Day 6: Build a Rhythm

Rhythm keeps roots healthy. Today we design a repeatable way to stay light.

1. What keeps me grounded?

Look back at Days 1–5. What practices actually helped you feel lighter?

2. Design a 10–minute ROOT rhythm

Keep it simple: 2 mins stillness + 5 mins journal/prayer + 3 mins planning the day around capacity.

3. Micro-Tasks

Evening Reflection

Which part of the rhythm feels most life-giving?

Scripture for today
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
— Matthew 11:30 (ESV)

Day 7: Commit to Lightness

You’ve dug up roots. Today you declare how you’ll walk from here.

1. Week 1 Debrief

Look over all days. What is the single biggest thing God showed you?

2. My Lightness Declaration

Write it like a man who’s decided: short, strong, specific.

3. Micro-Tasks

Week 1 Completed

How will you make sure your new margin isn’t filled with new pressure?