LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The rhythm of life is intricate but orderly, tenacious but fragile. To keep that in mind is to build the key to survival." Shirley Hufstedler

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.

I've appreciated a number of notes from people reading this post over the past 2 weeks. Some of you have committed to praying with me as I process through this, and many have shared that you're in a similar space. There is something very comforting in simply being reminded that "It's not just me!". Thank you for the encouragement and the support.

This conversation about RHYTHM is simply a journey. We'll never arrive, never completely master it, but it's a process. Hufstedler's quote above captures that idea in that it's a balancing act of taking all aspects of rhythm and holding them, learning from them and applying them. She says that this leads to survival, but I say it leads to a fuller life!

I have a rowing machine in my office. I purchased it during Covid when my local gym shut down, and I had been enjoying the rower.

Last week I jumped on it (after some time) and it just wasn't moving right. I was working hard and I thought I had just forgotten what the regular back and forth motion felt like, but after about 3 minutes of steady rowing, I stopped, and did a search on rowers and found that most likely, the chain on my rower just needed to be oiled. I applied some 3-in-ONE oil, and immediately the rower was smooth, moving easily, exactly as it was built to do.

It took just a little bit of oil to get that thing moving right again, but what a difference it made.

You can see the application....

What's the ONE THING that you can do that will help you find your rhythm again, that easy flow from one thing to the next? What aspect of maintenance will get you moving again?

Think back on your life, what has helped you find your healthy rhythms? Are you doing those things or avoiding them?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The whole universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals." John Hartford

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?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"True rhythm is often elusive, but so worth the effort!" Russ Cline

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I officially became a drummer at the age of 9, taking a band class in elementary school, and then getting one of those practice pads to play on. The real thing was that I had always been a drummer... always tapping, pounding my foot, looking for a stick to hit. Drumming came natural to me, and once I joined the band, I found my spot.

Mr. King, my 6th grade band teacher at Sunflower Middle School said over and over: "The Drummers Set The Tempo and Keep The Rhythm".

He would then have the full drum core lay down the beat for whatever song the band was playing. It was the 70's, so we did a lot of the Beach Boys, Chicago, and Elton John. Pretty impressive for a middle school band!

"The Drummers Set The Tempo and Keep the Rhythm"

Last week, I celebrated 61 years of life while on a short vacation with my wife, and while reflecting on the year behind me and the year before me the word RHYTHM just kept "pounding on my soul". I couldn't shake it off.

I watched the sun as it rose and as it set. Perfect rhythm.

I watched the waves come crashing in, over and over again. Perfect rhythm.

I looked at my life.... NOT SO PERFECT RHYTHM!

It's been a season of starts & stops, running & crawling, winning & losing, celebrating & mourning... I could go on and on, but I just feel like I've lost my beat, my tempo, my RHYTHM.

I can blame it on all kinds of things...

• To much work and some unreal expectations

• To many people to communicate with and connect with

• Not enough time to do the things I need and want to do

• Not enough discipline to stay focused

There are all kinds of reasons, but it comes back to me.

I need to "Set the Tempo and Keep the Rhythm".

Over the coming weeks I'm going to talk about RHYTHM and share with you some things that I'm doing to help me find it again. This is an ongoing and real-time conversation.

Listen to these definitions of RHYTHM:

• a stong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound

• a regularly recurring sequence of events, actions, or processess

• a harmonious sequence or correlation of colors or elements

• the ability to perceive, create, and/or move in time with a regular patter of sounds or movements.

Join me in the conversation.

Have you ever lost your RHYTHM? How would you define that? What definition above do you resonate with?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Investing in your own growth and self-development isn't selfish it's self-care." Unknown

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This idea of GROWTH is interesting to me. We're going to spend a few weeks talking about it, but personally I'm being challenged to not simply "be content" with where I'm at today. I want to always be growing and developing. What about you? To see past themes, visit my blog HERE.

This is the final quote on the topic of GROWTH, and while this specific quote isn't credited to anyone, there are many people who have said this in one way or another.

I've been in the non-profit sector for many years, and there's a mindset that I've both experienced and observed over the years, and it comes down to one simple word: GUILT.

• We feel GUILTY when we put our needs above others

• We feel GUILTY when we admit that we're struggling

• We feel GUILTY when we spend resources on ourselves

• We feel GUILTY when we have to say NO to someone

• We feel GUILTY when we take time for ourselves

• We feel GUILTY when we can't perform at our highest level

GUILT.

One of the definitions of guilt is simply: "You've done something wrong or you've committed an offense."

Guilt doesn't just happen in the non-profit sector, but it happens in EVERY sector. This is our human nature.

Here's the deal today:

STOP IT. (For those who know the Bob Newhart sketch, see below)

Just STOP IT.

You don't have to live in GUILT. Taking care of yourself is important, it's essential, it's Biblical and if you don't, you will crash and burn.

How has your fear or avoidance of guilt affected the way you take care of yourself? Body, Soul, Emotions?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Mahatma Gandhi

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This idea of GROWTH is interesting to me. We're going to spend a few weeks talking about it, but personally I'm being challenged to not simply "be content" with where I'm at today. I want to always be growing and developing. What about you? To see past themes, visit my blog HERE.

I love this thought from Mahatma Gandhi because it's inspirational. I'm challenged to live my life as if it were my last day and I'm challenged to always be learning.

For anyone who feels "stuck", this is inspiration to get moving and Gandhi modeled this in that he was living for something much bigger than himself, and he was in a constant state of learning.

Gandhi says this of himself: "Persistent questioning and healthy inquisitiveness are the first requiste for acquiring learning of any kind."

Do you get annoyed when someone keeps asking WHY?

Are you bothered when someone asks you to show them something?

Do you keep asking until you get a clear answer?

Sometimes I get frustrated when someone keeps asking me questions, and it's usually because of the space I'm in, not the person who is asking:

• I'm busy

• I'm distracted

• I'm focused

• I'm selfish

• I'm inpatient

Growth is good and I want to be better at helping people experience it and I want to contribute to others growth along the way!

When was the last time you found yourself frustrated by someones "why questions"? What was going on inside of you?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Learn continually - there's always 'one more thing' to learn!" Steve Jobs

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This idea of GROWTH is interesting to me. We're going to spend a few weeks talking about it, but personally I'm being challenged to not simply "be content" with where I'm at today. I want to always be growing and developing. What about you? To see past themes, visit my blog HERE.

Steve Jobs challenges us in the quote above to "learn continually", and while this is good and makes sense, to hear it from someone like Jobs who was so focused on innovation, we need to be reminded from time to time.

While Jobs may not have been the best leader at all times, he pushed his people to continually be learning, to be asking questions, to be approaching things from different perspectives, and to never settle for just "good". He was on a mission to create products that changed peoples lives, and he did this, over and over again.

We also saw Jobs "learn" along the way. He learned about his leadership, he learned about what worked and what didn't work, and he learned to trust people to help them pursue a compelling vision for his company.

I've read a number of Steve Jobs biographies over the years, and he did a great job of asking questions along the way, of surrounding himself with people who were smarter than him, and as technology changed, he changed.

I remember when I graduated from High School, I thought to myself, "I don't have to go to school anymore." It was now my choice to learn in a formal classroom or to be "done". I went to college...

I remember thinking at college graduation, "I don't have to go to school anymore. I'm done". Then I went to grad school...

I remember thinking when I finished my Masters, "I'm done learning. I have the degree". Then I kept learning through books, seminars, certifications, and all kinds of things....

Learning is a posture. It's not always tied to formal education, and I'm so thankful I went on to study and learn through a variety of methods and opportunities.

I am a life-long learner because it makes me a better leader and a better person.

How do you approach life-long learning?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Personal growth is not a matter of learning new information but unlearning old limits." Alan Cohen

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This idea of GROWTH is interesting to me. We're going to spend a few weeks talking about it, but personally I'm being challenged to not simply "be content" with where I'm at today. I want to always be growing and developing. What about you? To see past themes, visit my blog HERE.

When I saw this quote recently, I immediately resonated with it.

There are times that I want and need to grow, but I'm 100% limited by my habits, my past experiences and my unwillingness to let some things go.

The other day, I had to replace a headlight bulb on my car. I had replaced one years ago, and it was in a really awkward location, and I remembered how difficult it was.

I went out, and exactly as I did those years ago, I struggled to get it done, until about an hour into the project, I remembered what I had done before.

I quickly finished putting the bulb in and the truck back together.

I then pulled up a YouTube Video on the process, and the first thing the video said would have saved me an hour of work, and it was the thing I had figured out years ago.

I'm sure that never happens to you. I think if I do things the same way, I'll be able to figure them out. When will I learn? When will I remember?

Sometimes to move forward, we need to take a look back first.

How do lessons from your past help you with your future?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground." Stephen Covey

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This idea of GROWTH is interesting to me. We're going to spend a few weeks talking about it, but personally I'm being challenged to not simply "be content" with where I'm at today. I want to always be growing and developing. What about you? To see past themes, visit my blog HERE.

Covey's quote here really resonated with me today. In fact there's another line to this quote that simply says: "There's no greater investment."

Covey has impacted my growth since my early days of graduate school through his book and work on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. When I first read that book, I realized that as a young leader, I needed to grow. That started me on the journey of being a life-long learner, however as I get older, I find that it's easy to stop learning and just be content with where I'm at.

Today, as I contemplate this quote, these words are true: "self-growth is tender; it's holy ground."

I believe for each of us, this might mean something different.

I think in my younger days, I attacked personal growth with a vengeance, trying to consume as much as possible, working to build my resume, my portfolio and my toolbox. It was all about learning so I could leverage that into success in some way.

I think today, it's about being purposeful and identifying things that I still want to grow in, but also being very selective into where I'm spending my time, energy and resources.

I want my growth to count! This is why it's "tender & holy".

I don't want to waste my time, but I want to be always growing.

What does personal growth look like for you?