Tag Archive for: busy

The Pause That Leads

I meet lots of different people.
A term I frequently hear them use is “๐ˆ’๐ฆ ๐›๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฒ”.
In fact, I hear it every day, many times over.
More recently however, I have started to hear a new phrase surface.
“๐‘ช๐’“๐’‚๐’›๐’š ๐’ƒ๐’–๐’”๐’š”.
It seems busyness has reached a new level.
Is that you? How did it get this way?
Itโ€™s not wrong to get tired, or stressed or anxious, or even feel overwhelmed.
It not wrong to go through seasons where it feels like you are managing chaos, rather than moving with purposeโ€ฆ
Every one of us will pass through periods of complexity in our lives – it happens.
Those times when work simply accelerates, responsibilities layer on top of one another and our capacity to hold on to everything can feel like too much.
The question isnโ€™t โ€œWhy am I feeling this way?โ€
A better question may be โ€œWhat is this feeling trying to teach me?โ€
In leadership, we often speak about resilience, agility and capacity.
Yet before we know it, as expectations shift, demands increase and projects multiply, we arenโ€™t leading anymore, weโ€™re simply absorbing.
Thatโ€™s when we need to slow down and take some time to think.
Take time to acknowledge the pressure, to set boundaries and choose presence over speed, creating a space not only for ourselves to breathe and reset, but also others too.
Its my experience that these seasons of โ€œcrazy busyโ€ donโ€™t define us, they simply ๐’“๐’†๐’‡๐’Š๐’๐’† us.
Those times will pass, they always do.
We all need to slow down a little more, take some time to breathe, reset our boundaries and take some moments to recalibrate.
By taking some time to pause long enough and notice whatโ€™s happening within us, we can lead the way not from a point of exhaustion, but from a position of clarity and confidence.
As we do so, we give others the permission to do the same.
So, take that pause today, even a small one and let it steady you.
Let it bring you back to yourself, with a clearer mind, a calmer heart and a renewed sense of purpose.
What one shift would help you lead the way with more clarity and less chaos?

The Great Physician

All week long I have been working with some very busy people.
Giving them a few days to pause and reflect has been a wonderful opportunity to provide them with some time to think.
It got me thinking about busyness and how it can play into a lot of things in our lives.
In our day, we live in a time of constant noise.
Various demands fill our minds, drain our hearts and can leave very little room for stillness.
A recent example and frustration I hear repeatedly for many, is trying to get an appointment with a GP can sometimes take days or even weeks.
We sit on hold, wait for callbacks, refresh an app, or try and figure out the booking system on the surgery website and hope for a free slot to arise.
Sometimes, even healing can feel just out of reach.
And yetโ€ฆ
So many of us treat the ๐‘ฎ๐’“๐’†๐’‚๐’• ๐‘ท๐’‰๐’š๐’”๐’Š๐’„๐’Š๐’‚๐’ the same way.
Our lives are preoccupied with seemingly โ€œmore importantโ€ things, such as deadlines, messages, errands, pressures, noise and perhaps for even some, doom scrolling.
We keep meaning to make an appointment with Him, but somehow the day fills up, and the week disappears.

Availability

But unlike our earthly physicians, the Great Physician is never unavailable.
In a GP surgery, we ๐’˜๐’‚๐’Š๐’• for ๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’Ž.
With Christ, He ๐’˜๐’‚๐’Š๐’•๐’” for ๐’–๐’”.
No queue.
No waiting list.
No reception desk.
Just a standing invitation.
He heals overstretched minds, weary hearts, troubled spirits, and busy burdened souls.
The gospel is the Great Physicianโ€™s unfailing prescription for troubled souls, a remedy of peace, rest, forgiveness, purpose, and stillness in a noisy world.
We need the Great Physician to heal our busy lives and overscheduled souls.
His invitation is a simple oneโ€ฆ Come Follow Me.
We donโ€™t need to book a slot.
We only need to make space for Him.
Come and worship with us today and allow Him to speak peace to your soul.
What needs to shift in your life, so the Great Physician no longer becomes your last appointment?

Busy

Yesterday, Monic and I were busy with coaching interviews in Leiden all day.
We both enjoy taking walks with missionaries through the day if we possibly can.
Whilst walking with Allana Frost,we stopped and sat by a large pond.
We were talking about how busy we both were with various assignments and deep in conversation.
As we talked this huge goose approached us looking for food.
It looked pretty mean!
The two of us looked at each other, admittedly a little frightened, and thought it was going to bite us!
We sat still, until it turned away in disappointment that we had nothing for it to eat.
The distraction allowed us to pause, have some fun, and capture a picture or two!
For those moments we stopped being busy with our conversation and laughed!

Choices

Busy, is a choice…..right?
An almost standard reply many give or receive these days when asked how things are is “I’m really busy”.
Are we doing ourselves any favours by staying so busy?
Or is it an impression we simply want to make to others by wearing a busy badge?
Is it really too easy to default to the word “busy” to describe your life?
What is it that you are really saying about yourself and your life?
Maybe you are busy, and you need to focus on your time management and being more productive.
“Crazy-busyโ€™ is a great armour; itโ€™s a great way for numbing. What a lot of us do is that we stay so busy, and so out in front of our life, that the truth of how weโ€™re feeling and what we really need canโ€™t catch up with us.” – Brenรฉ Brown

Some Ideas

My invitation today – is to consider these four very simple ideas…
1. Slow down a little more and consider what matters most.
2. Determine not to use the word “busy” in response to any question!
3. Lear to say No!
4. Enjoy relaxation time.
Don’t let busyness hold you back from achieving what truly matters.
After all – busy, is a choice – right?

Too much to do?

Are you pushing yourself too hard?
Personally, Iโ€™m the kind of person that likes being busy, at least most of the time.
If you are not careful enough though, the side effects of the daily routines can include – physical aches and pains, difficulty sleeping, missing meals, abandoning exercise, headaches, stomach problems, forgetting things, feeling overwhelmed, feeling guilty, isolating yourself, irritability, anxiety and even depression can all kick in.
Have you noticed any new aches and pains recently?
Maybe you should listen to your body more often?
Yes, we all need to kick into a higher gear occasionally to get things done, but we need to put things into perspective, by taking care of ourselves and our relationships.
The way to succeed is not to work long hours, but to work hard in each hour.
And take short breaks – regularly!
Remember โ€“ life is short!
It is important to take time every day for yourself and to slow down, to enjoy the beauty you can find all around.
Open your eyes and see.
Perhaps it is time for you to re-connect with your core purpose and watch how your behaviours will shift along the way.
What can you do to slow down today?