It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

All of our past posts have been placed HERE if you want to go back and read one.

One month ago, February 18th, I shared this post on "slowing down". CLICK HERE to read it.

Think of all that has happened over the past 4 weeks as the entire world has been in a process of change. For some, this has been panic and desperation, for others it's been a forced shift to home and being grounded. 

This morning, I picked up this book again, "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" (John Mark Comer) and read the chapter on "slowing" again.

This is new territory for me. While I've enjoyed moments of adjusting my schedule to capture some stillness, I've never experienced a forced slow down like the one we're all experiencing now.  My natural reaction is to try to fill my time, find new ways to work my schedule, and continue my never-ending pursuit of productivity.

Today, I'm thinking about slowing down again.

Comer says this:

"The basic idea behind the practice of slowing is this: slow down your body, slow down your life."

He goes on to say that its difficult for us to slow down our minds if our body is still running at full pace. There's a correlation between the two, and we need to slow down both

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

Last week I talked about our need for a "Replenishment Cycle". I challenged you to talk about things that you need in your life that "fill you up".

I just finished one of the busiest weeks of my year. Each year I'm involved in putting together an event called the "Leader Mundial Global Summit". This year, I invited 48 men to come be a part of this Community. They came from 14 different countries, and we gathered together in Rome, Georgia as Coaches and Leaders, and spent 4 days learning and discussing the qualities of a leader. 

This was our 14th Global Summit that began back in 2007 in Ecuador.  This Summit has launched Regional Summits that bring men and women together in many different countries including Ecuador, South Africa, Manila, Nepal and Central Asia. 

We've seen hundreds of leaders participate through the years, with our clear goal being to "Help Position Leaders and Organizations for Greater Kingdom Impact".

If you'd like information about  being involved in this global community as a Coach or a Global Leader for our 2021 Summit or 2020 Regional Summits, write to me HERE.

But here's the point I want to make:

In the midst of an incredibly busy "season", I was refueled.

I came back from Georgia physically exhausted, but my soul was completely replenished. 

I think that sometimes we think that the only way to REFUEL is to:

- Sit on a beach doing nothing

- Take long naps and watch mindless television

- Distance ourself from our work roles and the people we work with

- Clear our to-do list so there are no demands on our time and energy

Here is the truth:

- God has created each of us differently, and wired us uniquely.  

- At times, the above list is important and what we should be doing.

- At times, what refuels the most is simply using our gifts and talents, working in our strengths and passion

- At times, refueling means to stop. At other times it means to do something different.

Last week we talked about the crazy seasons we go through in our life.

One of the ideas we were encouraged to do was simply to "Plan Time to Refuel". CLICK HERE to read the full post from last week.

This past week I guest lectured for a friend who teaches an Executive Coaching Class at a local Graduate School. I get to do this class every semester, and I teach about the LifePlan Process that I use when working with Executive Leaders.

As I was teaching and presenting the unique aspect of a holistic life-coaching tool, I was reminded again of the importance of refueling ones life.

There's a tool in the LifePlan process that is called THE REPLENISHMENT CYCLE.

The premise is this: When we take care of ourselves by "refueling our life", it makes us a better leader, a better person, a better friend, and on and on.

"IT'S JUST A BUSY SEASON..."

"WHEN I GET THROUGH THIS SEASON, IT WILL BE BETTER..."

"IT'S ANOTHER BUSY SEASON, BUT I'M ALMOST THROUGH IT..."

Have you ever heard these things said? Have you ever said them yourself?

I have. I've become a MASTER at defining the "seasons of life" I find myself in.

The reality is that it's really just a way for me to justify:

- Poor Planning

- Bad Decisions

- Out of Control Margins

- Too Much on my Plate

- An Un-Healthy Life Rhythm

- Out of Whack Priorities

I could go on and on here, but you get the point.

I was thinking about the topic of stress, and was challenged in my morning reading by John Mark Comer and his book, "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry". It's been a challenging read and I'm still working through the application. Today I read a chapter on "slowing down", which I quickly disregarded. I've got too much to do today to slow down!

Later today I ran an errand that included getting gas.

It was actually comical.

- I hit every light on the way to the gas station.

- I chose the gas line that moved the slowest (by mistake)

- The car in front of me had a problem, so they couldn't move out of way in order for me to get gas. I just sat and laughed.

- Leaving the gas station, I got stuck at a traffic light that wasn't working, and it took almost 10 minutes for me to get through it.

My 10 minute errand took me almost an hour to complete.

I don't have time today to learn any lessons! I've got too much to do.

I may be the only one dealing with stress here, but this past week has been an ongoing lesson. 

First, as I shared with you last week, I have identified that there's some stress in my life and it affects me in many ways.

Second, for some reason, I've come face-to-face with the impact of stress this week through a book I'm reading, through a podcast my wife shared with me and through some strategic conversation with people that are experiencing some of the same things.

I don't want to rush to the solution.

Here are some things I'm continuing to learn:

*Did you know that between 75% and 90% of all doctors visits are for issues related to STRESS?

This week, my wife and I had a visit from a good friend that we hadn't seen in a while, and when I was asked how I'm doing, I responded "I'm just managing the stress" or something like that. My wife looked at me. I have no idea where that came from, and I don't know why I would say that.

Here's the reality though... "I'm just managing through the stress."

I am experiencing some stress. I'm in another "busy season". I've been traveling and travel again this weekend. I haven't been eating great. I haven't been to the gym for 2 weeks. I'm not sleeping well. My "to do" list is long. I'm working long hours. My daughter is getting married in 6 weeks! There's some financial pressure....

I could go on and on, but when I honestly look at my life today, I have every reason to be experiencing some stress.

It's January 28th, ALREADY?

I feel like the year just started, and here we are, winding up January in just a few days.

We've been talking about priorities and getting things done this month. 

Did you know...

- That 80 percent of peoples New Years Resolutions fail by February? (US News & World Report)

- January 12th is the day most people "ditch" their resolutions. (We passed that day over 2 weeks ago)

- Only 9.2 percent of people keep their resolutions throughout the year

A RESOLUTION is defined as "a firm decision to do or not to do something".  In leadership, we call this a GOAL.  We focus more on the aspect of "aiming for something for a desired result".