It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"The whole universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals." John Hartford
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
I'm on a real-life journey to understand more about the "RHYTHM OF MY LIFE" and over the next number of weeks I want to drag you on this journey with me. To read past posts, visit my full site HERE.
Last week I talked about the rhythm I see around me, but that finding personal rhythm has felt elusive of late. John Hartford was a musician and songwriter and the thought, "The whole universe is based on rhythms..." just jumped out at me.
Maya Angelou said it this way:
"Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances."
There's a rhythm to life, to our world that began with creation. God's rhythm.
Rhythm is real and it is a part of everything.
I think at times I focus on my "personal life rhythm" or my "work life rhythm" or my "family rhythm" and I treat them as individual aspects of my life, without addressing my life as a whole. All areas impact all of the areas of my life. I might be managing one aspect well, but I underestimate how that will affect the other areas.
Here's an example: Health
I've been struggling with just general health, diet, exercise and sleep for some time, and this year I set some lofty goals, however "I haven't found my rhythm" yet. Lot's of starts and stops, lot's of backwards motion and some frustration.
It would be easy for me to look at my general health and say that this one aspect of my life isn't optimized without admitting how my health actually affects EVERY area of my life. Other areas are doing OK, but they are still impacted by this one aspect that isn't working as it should be.
Being out of sync in one area impacts ALL areas.
This is why rhythm is a part of everything.
How does keeping rhythm in one area of your life affect the other areas? Or how does losing rhythm affect those other areas?
DEEPER STILL:
DAY 12 OF MY JOURNEY as I navigate some thoughts around this.
I used to strive for BALANCE.
I assumed that if I had balance in my life, then there would be order, or maybe another way to say it: healthy rhythm.
I no longer strive for balance, because I've learned that it's mostly impossible to live in balance all the time. There's always one area, or sometimes 2 or 3 areas of my life that that aren't working at 100% and if my goal is balance, usually something suffers so I can't really find it
In a conversation with a good friend years ago, Dr. Wes and I talked about the fact that it's usually when we're living in EXTREMES that God is able to show up in a very real way. When we're out of balance, fully dependent on God and his mercy and faithfulness, that's when we experience that grace and provision.
Balance is something I can strive for and try to manage.
Rhythm is something that God helps me find and live at peace with.
I've learned to not be afraid of the extremes and being out of balance, because it's often at that moment that something truly miraculous happens
I don't try to live "out of balance", but I'm not afraid of those times, those seasons that I'm living at the extreme.
Here's the ONE THING I'm learning:
*Work to ANTICIPATE those extreme seasons and be ready for it.
When you live in balance, we try to avoid those times.
When we live in reality, we know that those times are going to come, so we need to anticipate them and do all we can do to be ready.
How did I do this during this past week?
I forced myself to go to bed earlier than normal because I needed the rest to face all that was coming.
Gina and I slipped away to paddle board in the harbor early in the morning before we both had a busy day. It's was amazing to be together, to be in God's beauty and to get some exercise in anticipation of a full day.
I cut an appointment short so I could get some uninterrupted time with my grandson playing legos and trains on the floor in the middle of the day. I worked later that night and earlier the next day, but it worked in my schedule and renewed my soul.
I stopped on the side of the road to contemplate something I heard on a podcast and then to journal about that thought instead of racing through it.
I blocked time to focus on communication (as I shared last week) and it felt great to clear out some inbox traffic. Still have a ways to go.
Anticipate those times that you'll be pushed, and when you get through those times, PAUSE to catch your breath, to regroup and to focus again.
This is what I'm working on today... ANTICIPATING WHAT'S COMING MY WAY.
How do you manage BALANCE in your life? How do you anticipate extreme seasons coming your way?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
Just watch a couple of videos from The Blue Man Group. Their rhythm is astounding!
This book, from John Eldredge, has been really good for me. Resilient: Restoring your Weary Soul in these Turbulent Times.
Some friends told us about this new series called The Pit. We are a couple of episodes in on this intense medical drama.
The PAUSE APP from John Eldredge is a great tool to simply hear God's voice in your life and there's a "RHYTHM" to it.
OK, since we're on a rhythm theme, check out Rick Beato's "Top 20 Drum Intros of All Time"