I woke up early this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. My mind was running. Same thing happened the night before. Ahhh… When I get going too fast internally I find that it shows up in different ways. That’s one. I kick it in gear all day, and I have a hard time slowing down when I get home. I don’t sleep as well.
Steve Sjogren mentioned to me once the phrase the “speed of soul” – I love it. Our bodies can run at a pace faster than our souls. We have the ability to produce adrenalin and kick it up a notch when it’s necessary. Living at that pace, day after day, isn’t healthy. It’s also not productive in the long-run.
Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz wrote the book, The Power of Full Engagement. The authors help professional athletes train. Many athletes actually over train. They don’t allow their body sufficient time to recover and gain full strength. By training so hard without rest, they are actually losing efficiency and effectiveness. They can maximize their output by getting into a healthy rhythm of stress (workout) and rest.
So here’s to the SPEED OF SOUL – living with a healthy rhythm of work, rest, family, and fun. Three things that help me.
1. Starting the day with a big drink of God – reading His Word and prayer stills the heart, refreshes the soul, and feeds the spirit.
2. Take some breaks during the day – allow yourself to experience a valley between peaks of work. Don’t schedule meetings back to back (I’m speaking to myself now).
3. Unplug at least an hour or two before bed. Read, relax, and put the laptop down. Don’t put it on twitter that you’re relaxing.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psa 46:10 [show]<div class="esv"><h2>Psalm 46:10 <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F19046010" width="40" height="12" class="audio"><param name="movie" value="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F19046010" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></h2>
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<p class="line-group" id="p19046010.01-1"><span class="verse-num" id="v19046010-1">10 </span>“Be still, and know that I am God.<br />
<span class="indent"></span>I will be exalted among the nations,<br />
<span class="indent"></span>I will be exalted in the earth!” (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p>
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1 response so far ↓
1 Arielle // Mar 26, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Sounds like a sermon outline to me… and good advice.
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