leadership

Know When To Create Margin

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I had a lot going on this week.  Between work, family stuff, and other events I had scheduled, I could see that I wasn’t going to have enough time to do everything without being frazzled at the end.  And even if I didn’t get everything done, it wouldn’t be done well, because I left myself with no margin.

So, Tuesday evening, I made arrangements to cancel my participation I an event that I had for the upcoming Sunday.  Doing so freed up time during the week I would have spent in preparation, in addition to lightening the load on Sunday.  I’m grateful for the time I was able to free up to spend on the other things I need to do this week.  I’m also grateful for the reduced stress and for not having the sense of being hurried through the week, that I would have experienced, had I not created some margin.

Is there anywhere in your day, your week, or your life where you could use some margin?  If so, begin looking for ways to create that margin.  Once identified, take the steps to make it happen. 

Follow Through On Intentions

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I was really impressed with something our pastor did in church last Sunday.  As I was reflecting on it later in the day I thought, “I should send him a hand-written note and tell him how much I appreciated what he did.”  That’s a good intention.  However, as the week got busier, I could feel my intention slipping to the back burner toward inaction.  If I didn’t do something, the likelihood that this intention would ever bloom into realized action, was not looking good.

So last night I just decided (and actually followed through) that I was not going to do anything else until I got the note written and put it in an addressed envelope with a stamp.  As I type this, the note is in the care of the USPS and on its way to the recipient. 

When we have a good intention, we should honor that intention by taking the necessary action to bring it to life.  Not only will be feel good about following through on our good intention, we’ll hopefully be blessing someone else as well.

Looking For Excuses

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It’s so easy to find an excuse to get out of doing something you don’t want to do.  Have you ever thought of looking for excuses to do what you know you should be doing?  

For example, maybe you go to the gym every morning when you wake up.  However, on this particular morning, it’s dark, cold, and rainy out when you wake up.  The easy excuse to get out of going to the gym is, “It’s cold and wet outside, but it’s nice and warm in bed.  I’m going to skip the gym today and go tomorrow.” 

At this point, you could also look for an excuse to go to the gym, regardless of the weather.  Your excuse to do what you know you should do, might be, “It’s kind of crappy out, but I’m already awake, and I’ll feel good once I’m done.  There really isn’t a good reason not to go.”

Looking for excuses to follow through, instead of mailing it in, is  a way to reframe the discussions we often have with ourselves when we’re trying to take the easy route.  Often times we just need to give ourselves a little pep talk, or light a fire for ourselves.  And often, a good excuse is just what we need. 

Division

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Think, for a moment, of all the things that people can have differing opinions about.  The list is endless!  Topics range from volatile ones like pollical leaning and religion to more innocuous ones like music preference, being a morning or evening person, or your favorite flavor of ice cream. 

Now think of the people you know.  How many of them do you have the exact same opinions on every topic with?  Zero?  Yeah, me too.

With so many things to be divided over, it’s important that we are mindful of what we actually allow to drive wedges in our relationships.  Do we really want to shut someone down or vilify them over minor differences?  Do we really want our radars up looking for reasons to be divided, versus looking for what unites us?  Do we want others looking us with an eye toward division?

Leading with an eye toward division comes with a high price.  We miss out on opportunities to learn more about others.  In some cases, we drive wedges between those closest to over insignificant differences.  What a sad realization it would be to look back on such a life, and see all the division we’ve created, because all we were seeing were differences versus people.

Forgiveness

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This week’s post is simple:  If you need to ask someone for forgiveness, do it immediately.  I had a choice to do that this week.

This week, a great friend of mine pointed out a behavior to me that falls well below my personal standards.  It wasn’t terribly easy to hear, but I could recognize the truth in what he said.  As I pondered his words later that day, I got the Holy Spirit prompting that I needed to ask this friend for forgiveness.

We have a choice when we know we need to ask for forgiveness.  We can either do it (obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit for Jesus followers) or make excuses why we don’t need to seek forgiveness.  In these situations, our excuses not to seek forgiveness are usually just lame excused to protect our pride.

I am blessed that my friend gave me forgiveness.  When I think about it, had I instead chosen to protect my pride (which is easy for me to do!), it could have cost me a dear friend.  In my book, that was far too high a price to pay.

I tell you that to encourage you to seek forgiveness when you know it’s what you need to do, so that you don’t wind up making a relationally costly mistake. 

Changing For A Change

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Journaling is something that I really enjoy doing.  I like its reflective aspects, as well as how it causes me to look forward with an eager anticipation of the good things to come.  I just feel like I do life better when I’m journaling versus when I’m not.

The problem I have, is that I’m incredibly inconsistent in my journal writing.

I’ve decided that I need to greatly increase the frequency of my journal writing this year.  As such, I’ve changed a couple of things that I expect will cause my journal writing frequency to increase, not just this year, but for many years to come.

For starters, I’ve been waking up 15 minutes earlier.  (I know, “What a novel idea!”)  I’ve also, integrated journaling as part of my morning routine, right between reading the Bible and eating my morning oatmeal.  My morning routine is solidly established, so by getting up a little earlier, and adding journaling between 2 regular activities, I stand a very high chance of making journaling an established part of the routine as well.

I’ve also made a couple other changes that are more conducive to journaling, like where I sit when I read the Bible, and keeping my journal in that location.  That way, it’s already there when I show up to read.

This year, I determined that I needed to make a change (or two) in order to make journaling a regular habit.  The problem I’ve had in the past is that I’ve always wanted to journal more, but I didn’t change anything significant to cause that to happen.  So far, I’m off to a good start!

Are there any changes you need to make for a change?

Decide How It Goes

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With 2023 just a couple of hours away, consider this thought:  You get to decide how the new year goes for you.  That’s a pretty empowering statement!

Yes, we all know that things will occur that we did not choose, that will adversely impact us.  That’s just part of the deal for waking up with a pulse. 

However, we do get the privilege of choosing:

  • Our attitude
  • The speech we use
  • The thoughts we think
  • The actions we take
  • What we want to achieve this year
  • Who we spend our time with
  • What we learn and how we apply it
  • The kind of person we want to be during the next 12 months

So, remember throughout 2023, that we’re not just buckled into an uncontrollable year-long rollercoaster ride.  Rather, we are in the driver seat of our lives, and can steer it any direction we want in the coming year.

Let’s make choices in 2023 that put us in position on 12/31/2023 to look back and say, “That was a great year!”

Make the Call

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On Thursday evening, my wife and I were scheduled to go to one of those painting classes where the instructor has a picture on display and walks everyone through how to paint it.  We’ve been to a similar class together and really enjoyed it!  We were looking forward to that being the start to our Christmas time off.  However, Thursday evening was when the threats of freezing rain were to come to fruition in our area.  

About 90 minutes before we were to go, I was out checking the street and sidewalks to see how much ice had already built up.  They were starting to get slick, and only forecast to get worse, but it felt like we would be able to make it.  For several minutes I went back and forth on whether or not we just go, or stay off the worsening roads.  About an hour before the class, we made the call to stay home.

Although we were disappointed not to be going, I’m glad we made the choice to stay off the roads.  It was the right choice, but that doesn’t mean it was pleasant to make. 

We often have choices that we know we need to make, but we delay, either because we don’t want to make the call, or we’re feeling pressured to make a choice contrary to the one we know we should make.  In those situations, it’s good to pause, ask ourselves what that wise choice is, and make the call. 

Are there any calls you need to make?

Becoming

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As the end of the year rolls around, many of us start thinking about goals for the upcoming year.  While I believe goas are important (and I like having goals) my greater focus is on what kind of person I want to become in the years ahead.

As someone who plays electric bass, I want to become a musician who has a strong grasp of bass playing fundamentals and music theory, and can easily apply them to songs I play.  If this is what I want to become, then there are certain behaviors I need to engage in to cause me to become this type of musician.   

For example, I need to:

  • Constantly practice the bass playing fundamentals
  • Study music theory
  • Listen to other bass players and analyze what they’re doing in their playing
  • Attend concerts to expose myself to other bass playing styles
  • Apply what I’m learning to my own playing

As a follower of Jesus, I want to become a person whose life reflects what it looks like to be a true follower of Jesus.  In order to become this type of person, I’ll need to:

  • Read my Bible on a daily basis to I can be familiar with Jesus’s teaching
  • Put into practice what I learn
  • Make prayer a significant event throughout every day
  • Spend time in quiet self-reflection  
  • Be attentive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in my life, and respond accordingly.

For me, the focus on “becoming” is directed toward ensuring my behaviors each day are consistent with what it is I want to become.  It’s a great barometer for making sure I’m spending my days wisely, and that they’ll take me where I want to go.

So, what kind of person do you want to become?  Now the important question:  what do you need to do today to become that person?

Thinking With Others  

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 “None of us is as smart as all of us.”  ~Ken Blanchard

I’m working on a data visualization project at work with another person who also has a background in data.  After I first meeting, I knew I was going to like working with this person.

For starters, they had ideas about what they wanted to see in the visualization, and the questions they were hoping the visualization would answer.  What really impressed me about this person was that they were also willing to have their ideas built upon.

They’d throw and idea out, then I’d come back with and idea to build the idea they had proposed, and vice versa.  The end result of this “idea tennis match” was that we came up with some great visuals that will be useful for the folks in our organization that will ultimately consume this data.  In addition, it was fun to challenge each other with new thoughts.

I think it’s important to keep Ken Blanchard’s quote in mind, as well as keeping ourselves open to having our ideas stretched by other people.  Doing so exposes our ideas to the potential of becoming great ideas.