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:
"Forget about creating a routine. You have to focus on finding your rhythm. With routines you are either on track or not. With rhythm you can skip a beat and still get back in the groove." K.C. Davis
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.
This quote from Davis hit me today.
Often, when I'm in a funk, I revert to my "LISTS".
I love lists. I have to-do lists, I have goal lists, I have people lists, I have project lists. I find that when I write things down it helps me to remember them, and often just a simply "prompt" in a list is all I need.
This past week I wanted to send a gift to someone, so I just wrote in my list: SEND BOX. I looked at that for a few days, then sent it off, and checked it off my list.
There's nothing wrong with lists, but I realize that working my list doesn't get me back to RHYTHM. You can't power through a list to "get back in the groove". (I love that line from the quote.... groove!)
Rhythm is more than a list of things that you do on a regular basis...
Rhythm is a place.
Rhythm is a peace.
Rhythm is a groove.
Rhythm is more than just a set of tasks that you need to accomplish, it's an overall feeling of being in the right place, in the correct state of mind, in the groove.
How can you tell when you're completely IN RHYTHM or completely OUT OF RHYTHM?
DEEPER STILL:
DAY 27 OF MY JOURNEY as I navigate some thoughts around this.
Finding My Groove
Last week I talked about the importance of a Replenishment Cycle, and I've been thinking about the concept of a "CYCLE". Cycle is defined as "a series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order" or "to move in or follow a regularly repeated sequence of events."
With replenishment, it's simply identifying the things you can do over and over again that fill you up.
I'm realizing that something that moves me towards rhythm is the familiarity of cycles in my life.
Here's an example:
I like to walk. It's been something that I've been aggressively doing for the past 5 years. I call it "movement" and when I walk, a lot of things happen at the same time: exercise, silence, God's beauty, education, worship, learning, laughing, breathing, space.... on and on. There are so many things that happen during my walks, yet a number of weeks ago, I got out of my "walking rhythm". I don't know why, but for some reason, I just didn't walk as much, and I think it's affecting me. Not because of the movement associated with it, but because of everything else that happens during that time.
This morning, I walked. I listened to a podcast, I had some silence, I smelled the lavender that I walk by every day, I stole a peach from my neighbors tree, I said hello to 3 neighbors and about 6 dogs, I found a quarter and I breathed in some fresh air. It was a good morning.
But now, I realize that my "walking cycle" has been broken for a number of reasons, some of which are...
I've been staying up later than normal, playing a game on my phone and watching some mindless tv.
I haven't been eating great
I haven't been going to the gym regularly
I haven't been stretching like I know I should be
These things can sound like a "list of things to do" or they are things that I need to do or avoid to find my rhythm.
Again, this is a LIVE JOURNEY. I'm sharing this with you as I work to figure it out, but today I'm thinking about the things I do unintentionally that keep me from finding that groove. I'm not blaming anyone else, but myself.
This week, instead of making my lists, I want to think about the cycles in my life, the "regularly things I repeat" that are good, that are healthy, that point me in the direction I want to be moving in.
What cycles do you have in your life? Are there cycles that are broken that need some attention?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
We watched the moving, Fountain of Youth on Apple this weekend. Fun movie, felt like some "Indiana Jones" from the past.
I listen to 2 podcasts in the morning on my first walk: The Best One Yet and Up First from NPR. Both podcasts are short and cover 3 stories for the day.
Check out Legacy Coalition, a ministry that helps grandparents have a greater impact on their families! Larry Fowler, the founder, shared at Barnabas this past week. Great tools, support and resources to help grandparents with one of our most important roles!
Gina and I had a great hike with our friends Jim & Christine this weekend at Santiago Oaks Regional Park! Hills and trails!
I updated my computer camera to a Logitech MX Brio Ultra. I love the clarity and definition!