Sometimes, we just need some rejuvenation. We need a massage that starts on the inside and works its way around until we are feeling good again. There is not always a single event that begins to turn our flame down to low…sometimes it is a series of events that just begin to wear away at our spirit. We could have every reason to want to shine brightly, but we can’t muster up the flame. Even coaxing from our friends to “just let it go” or suggestions to “leave it behind and move on” do not seem to do the trick. Just sometimes, we need to sit and ponder and conserve.
Hey, there is nothing wrong with taking a breather now and then. Actually, you should be doing it a lot more than now and then. There is actually science out there that says we need to take periodic rest breaks. Other countries do it so much better than us. We are sometimes made to feel guilty if we pause instead of working harder.
If you are finding that your passion is slipping away and you recognize there are issues beyond your control to change that are making you feel this way, please stop and take a break. Reflect on the real reason why you began this journey of leadership. Write it down even…take a few days off…phone a friend…give yourself a massage on the inside by remembering the roots of your passion.
Once, I was feeling pretty insignificant. I didn’t see how I could possibly be making a critical difference. And then I came upon a newspaper clipping that I had cut out of the local paper from a family of a trauma patient I had cared for and they had taken out an ad to thank us for saving his life. At that moment, I remembered that I did make a difference. I took that little clipping, faded yellow from age, and I put it in a small frame. I remember touching it like it would break apart if I handled it too rough. I put it in a place that I could see it every day so that I would be reminded that I do make a difference. That patient, Andy, I cared for in 1986! To this day, that newspaper clipping sits in a place on my office windowsill and to this day…it still gives me joy to remember. Find a moment where you know you made a difference. Draw a picture to remind you and put it someplace you will see frequently. Let it give you that massage on the inside…let it remind you that you do make a difference…and be ready to get going as your flame grows brighter and stronger with these thoughts.
Enough…Mary