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:
"Joy is not a season, it's a way of living." Kalley Heiligenthal
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.
Thanks for being on this journey with me over the past month as I've talked about RHYTHM and shared with you some of my journey. Thank you also to those who have reached out and shared your stories along the way. That's been encouraging to me. We're going to keep going, because surprisingly enough, I haven't arrived! There are still lessons to learn, so let's keep going....
This past week, the word that has been rolling around in my head is simply the word JOY.
I love this definition: "A deep and abiding sense of happiness and contentment". That describes it really well. Webster defines it as: "a feeling of great pleasure or happiness that comes from success, good fortune, or a sense of well-being."
I love this quote because I often get caught up in the "seasons of life"... and I define these as a "busy season" or a "stressful season" or a "full season" or a "fun season" or whatever other words I choose.
Heiligenthal says it so simply: Joy isn't a season, it's life!
We've been talking about RHYTHM over the past number of weeks and I've shared with you honestly some of my journey, some of my questions and some of the process, and if I went back and read each of my posts, I'm sure somewhere I said something about "the season I'm going through".
Today, I simply choose JOY.
No matter what is going on around me, what is going on in me, what is coming out of me, I choose JOY.
I choose JOY because sometimes that's the last thing I want to respond with. Life is hard. There are twists and turns, surprises and challenges every day, but instead of responding instantly with despair, I choose to respond with JOY.
What would it look like in your life if you CHOSE JOY today, when things come at you? Especially the unexpected things...
DEEPER STILL:
DAY 48 OF MY JOURNEY as I navigate some thoughts around rhythm.
Life Continues On...
Joy
How does JOY impact the Rhythm of my Life?
There is such a direct correlation between how I choose to live and JOY and the challenges I face on a regular basis with my RHYTHM and pace of life.
Again, back to the quote, JOY doesn't only come when I can manage it, it's a way of life... it always resides and me and hopefully lives through me.
There's a great little book by Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey we used at one of our Leader Mundial Summits last year called "The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled People".
In this simple book, the authors talk about the power of joy in addressing things like resilience, negative thoughts and feeling "stuck". The 4 Habits they share are very simple, and I encourage you to read the whole book for the details. The 4 Habits are:
#1) CALMING: This is about self-regulation
#2) APPRECIATION: This is about cultivating a sense of gratitude
#3) STORYTELLING: This is about forming a narrative around tough lessons.
#4) ATTACKING TOXIC THOUGHTS: This is about identifying and challenging negative thoughts effectively.
"Joy is not a luxury. It is a necessity."
Jesus said in John 15: "I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature." (MSG). Other translations use the word "complete".
Wouldn't it be nice to live out of JOY? Is this the secret to truly living in and through these "seasons of life"?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled People: 15 Minute Brain Science Hacks to a More Connected and Satisfying Life by Marcus Warner & Chris Coursey
Check out the 4 Habits website for much more... a 28 day challenge and lot's of other resources!
I'm reading Carey Nieuwhofs book, "At Your Best". Really good thoughts on time, energy and priorities!
Gina and I attended a really fun evening of learning about different faiths put on by iHope Ministries in their Ethnos Course. Check it out!
"The Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys" was shown again, remembering the life of Brian Wilson who passed away this past week. Incredible music honored by incredible musicians.
OK, here's a bonus this week... a friend challenged me to listen to Bad Company again, after many years! I forgot many of these songs, but enjoyed listening to their full Essential Album on Apple!