SHOW NOTES
Lessons Learned, pt2
Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 162
Lesson #1: Anger is a manifestation of selfishness.
Lesson #2: Slow down.
I was never good at taking a break. Mainly because I was always a pretty high energy person. I would rather do something than sit around and do nothing. I like staying engaged.
The problem with that is that you think everyone is on that same level. One of the mistakes I made was equating that energy level with being righteous, like saying, “What’s the matter? Why can’t you keep up with me?”
I think work is righteous. God said to work. I don’t think anyone should celebrate laziness. The Bible surely doesn’t. The Greek word for work is work. Anyone you know who is fruitful in ministry is someone who is a hard worker. But maybe we have taken that to a place that isn’t healthy.
If I had it to do over again, I would recognize that times of doing nothing with my family could be more productive than doing something. We did things together. We would work on projects, and I taught them many skills. They are all great workers and very responsible. Yet, there are greater things I could have invested in them by slowing down and spending more time with them. I could have measured my day better than just by what I got done.
People would tell me to take a break. I would intellectually agree with that, but then never do it. Taking a break is the right thing to do. I wasn’t good at taking vacations. I would let my family take vacations and only join for part of it, never thinking I was cheating them because I felt fine about it. I was going by what I felt. But in any other endeavor, I would say that was the lowest form of any leadership or self-discipline—making decisions based on how you feel.
One time when I was arrested, they put me in a cell by myself. I went to sleep and woke up 18 hours later! The guards told me that they checked on me several times, thinking I wasn’t okay. I had never slept like that in my life. Even after that, I didn’t get it. I had hit the level where I was getting diminishing returns from my body.
I think that’s where a lot of mistakes are made in ministry and business. You are operating in fatigue and you think you are doing better than you are doing. In football, we see this is being realized, as they are starting to rotate positions so the players get a breather.
Learn to take a break. Don’t trust your feelings. Look at your schedule. When was the last time you took a day off? When was the last time you got away with your spouse or family, even for a weekend? If you are an employer and you want people to really love working for you, give them an unexpected day off.
If you are not taking a break, not enjoying the fruit of your labor, always pressing, you are going to see the glass half-empty. When you are not taking a break, you are not operating in faith. When you are not taking a break, you are not taking time to be thankful and show gratitude for what you have accomplished. When you are always being driven, you are training your heart to not be thankful.
The Sabbath principle is not to get you to recover when you are exhausted and wiped out. The Sabbath principle is to keep you fresh. Take that time away. It’s not just based on your needs. It’s about being able to keep going. Look at your calendar and plan your breaks, whether you feel you need it or not.
Doing nothing can help you be restored and do something with a much better edge.
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
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