Tuesday at 2:00pm with Russ

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 speed of joy is the speed that allows you to flourish." Matthew Kelly

What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Continuing on in our conversation around JOY for another 2 weeks.

I've been talking about this book by Matthew Kelly, Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy, and this quote is just a theme throughout the book.

Basically Kelly is saying that Joy isn't found by moving faster - it's found by moving at the right pace for you.

The core idea: modern life pressures us to do more, faster. But joy - genuine flourishing - has its own natural rhythm. When you outrun it (overcommitment, constant busyness, chasing the next thing), you lose it. When you slow down below it (stagnation, avoidance), you also miss it.

"The speed of joy" is whatever pace lets you be fully present, engaged, and growing - not burned out, not coasting. That speed is personal and varies by season of life.

Here's his major takeaway: "If you're not experiencing joy, you might not need to try harder - you might need to slow down."

I won't bore you with more stories about my bird watching! (see last weeks post if you missed it) but that experience last week did something in me that I'm trying to figure out.

Steps from my home office is an incredible back yard. We've been working on this yard over the past number of years and Gina has everything blooming, the landscape looking great and the yard is "flourishing".

We enjoy the yard, and often use it to host our family and our friends, but it seems that the only times I'm using the yard by myself is when I'm working in it. I'm not taking advantage of this refuge we have right here.

The bird watching experience reminded me of this great space that I don't use and appreciate near enough.

This past weekend, I found myself on one of our chaise lounges, not only watching and listening to the birds, but just enjoying the silence around me. I didn't reach for my phone, I didn't have a book in my hand, I just sat in the silence. This led to a short nap which then led to an even longer nap on the couch.

I can't tell you when the last time I fell asleep sitting outside was. It's been a while. I really don't nap, but for some reason, this weekend, it was a gift!

I'm trying to slow down. I'm trying to not be so tied to my phone, to the news, to what's happening every minute of the day. I realize that slowing down isn't just shifting from one pace to a slower pace, but it's actually stopping completely: stopping to catch my breath, stopping to replenish, stopping to just sit in the moment. I'm tired of living at a pace where I continually miss the things that are right in front of my face.

What does personal FLOURISHING look like to you?

DEEPER STILL:

What does FLOURISHING look like for you?

Here's a definition of what flourishing means: "Flourishing means living in a way that fully expresses and develops what you are - not just surviving or feeling good, but actually becoming more fully yourself over time."

I work with leaders to define what flourishing means for them and then how to pursue it. This is called a LifePlan the goal of a LifePlan is to answer these 2 questions, which directly relate to your ability to flourish.

Question #1) How Did I Get Here? What led me to the place where I am today? Who have I become? What has contributed to the state I'm in?

Question #2) Where Am I Going? What does "flourishing" look like in my life? Where do I want to be in all areas of my life in the next 10 years? What do I need to do to get there?

In the LifePlan Process, we approach these questions from many different angels, but a couple of the major themes are:

PERSPECTIVE: Look Backwards First. Identify moments in your life that shaped you, that moved you in a new direction, that impacted your life. Define those moments and learn from them.

REPLENISHMENT: Figure out what drains your energy and what restores your energy and learn how to manage that.

RISKS: Identify some things that keep you from flourishing, things that can derail your progress and keep you from achieving your goals.

PERSONALIZE IT: What does flourishing look like for you, your needs, not your parents, your families, your organization, but YOU! Defining your needs helps you meet the needs of those around you.

A LifePlan goes much deeper than this, but maybe this is something you need to think about.

Here's your choice:

You can whine and complain because you're never able to experience that personal FLOURISHING that has a foundation in JOY or you can do something about that.

When was the last time you took a nap, or just STOPPED?

 

Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:

Source: www.leadermundial.org