Love Learn Lead April 6, 2017

Spring is truly here, and if we had any question about what month it is—here in Pennsylvania, the rainy forecast is leaving us no doubt. April has arrived. But though most days it is still dark and gloomy, this darkness is the beginning of new life. Pretty soon, the trees will be green again, and our farmer’s market will be filled with local strawberries and asparagus. Good things are coming, we just can’t see them yet.

This time of year is reminding me that just as things are always darkest right before dawn, so it is with life. We just need to hold on. If you’re in a life season that is in need of some light and hope to break in, I am praying that today you are blessed with the strength to hold on, until it does. It is coming.

Happy Thursday! Here is this week’s Love Learn Lead:

Love

One of the hardest things about winter, I find, is not being able to be outside. When we can, my husband and I really like to hike, but we’re not quite able to do that yet, weather-wise. So, what is the next best thing to going on an epic hike? Reading about one.

In the book Called Again, Jennifer Pharr Davis, takes us on her record breaking hike through the Appalachian Trail. Becoming the first female to break the overall record of making the 2,181 mile trek in 46 days, she takes you through every emotional high and low of her trip. She writes in a way that makes you feel like you are with her. If you too are itching for an outdoor adventure, but can’t get there yet, I highly recommend this read.

What adventures are you dreaming of, for this year?

Learn

“If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”

― C.S. Lewis

What favorable conditions are you waiting for—to learn something new?

Lead

Leadership Tip #6: Take a Break

Do you want to lead for five years? Or do you want to lead for twenty or thirty? If you choose the latter, then you need to take a break. I don’t care if those around you—or even those you follow—are living and working at break-neck speed. If you want to be an effective and long-lasting leader in your profession or community, you need to take time to rest.

Think about it this way. Say you were a gardener with a large garden. But you didn’t have a long enough hose to reach it, and you only had a bucket with enough water to cover a few rows of plants. Every time you emptied your bucket, you would have to stop and refill before moving on to the next set of rows. If you didn’t stop to refill, most of your garden wouldn’t grow.

As much as we don’t like to admit it, it is the same with us. We as human beings have a finite amount of resources within us, that no amount of energy drinks or espresso’s can make up for. The more nights we go without enough sleep and the more time goes by without a day off, all of our abilities to produce, create, and lead, dry up. And it isn’t pretty when we are leading from an empty bucket.

The reason the journey of a leader is so often compared to “a marathon and not a sprint,” is because it is true. None of us can accomplish all that we know we are capable of, in a few all-nighters. The impact we long to make as leaders can only be done over the long hall. And if we want to make it to the finish line, we need to take time to rest.