LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Joy is not a season, it's a way of living." Kalley Heiligenthal

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…

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The essential thing 'in heaven and earth' is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living." Friedrich Nietzsche

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....

I was listening to a podcast this past week and Bono, lead singer from the band U2 mentioned this quote. I stopped and wrote it down, then looked it up later.

Nietzsche, the German philosopher said this and while he pushed against a personal belief in God, this quote speaks clearly of God to me, so I wanted to dive into it.

Bono was talking about the idea of a "long obedience in the same direction" and I connected that to the conversation of RHYTHM. This speaks of discipline & intentionality, but it also addresses the idea of movement towards a goal.

Nietzsche then says: "There thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living." That idea that in going the distance, there will not only be results, but there will be purpose. That's powerful.

Today, think about these 2 aspects of RHYTHM:

1) ARE YOU PLAYING THE LONG GAME?

Are you looking for more than short-term results? Are you looking forward?

2) IS YOUR PURSUIT OF RHYTHM CONNECTED TO YOUR PURPOSE?

How does your "life in rhythm" help you live more purposefully?

My personal quest to find my RHYTHM is 100% connected with my purpose in life. Rhythm helps me live in Purpose! What about you?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way." Keanu Reeves

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, I got in my "trusty truck", and was honestly heading to the gas station to fill up, and when I started the truck, I had these three lights flashing at me.... one was for gas (and if you know me, running low on gas is a rare occasion). The second light was a "check tire pressure" warning, and the third was a "maintenance required" light. I looked at that dashboard and just laughed out loud.

This wasn't just the dashboard of my truck, it was the dashboard of my life!

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.

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?

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?