Rick Torson draws on his disaster-relief work after Hurricane Harvey and basketball coaching to show how burnout kills focus and leadership. He offers three concrete fixes: schedule regular timeouts, practice deep breathing, and prioritize rest to protect your relationships and productivity.
John Maxwell once said, learning to pause allows growth to catch up with you. Hey, when's the last time you took an intentional pause? Or what I like to call a timeout? You know, I'm part of an organization that engages in disaster relief, and we've seen many disasters over the year, but Hurricane Harvey had to be one of the worst. The aftermath left many of us, if not all of us, physically and emotionally tired and depleted. While we may not experience natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes regularly, the whirlwinds of life are ever present. The pressures of work and finances, family, friends, future, seem to lurk around every corner, and we can find ourselves easily overwhelmed. Now. I think I'm a person of great capacity. My faith is strong and my commitment is high. But if I'm really honest, there's times when my focus, energy, and stamina really need some help. When I'm tired or feeling caught in the speed of life, my focus can get blurry and my leadership suffers along with my relationships. It's in these times that my body, mind and spirit are desperately trying to call a timeout. I'm sure you can relate. You know, I used to coach basketball at a large high school in Texas, and there were times during the game when things would begin to get out of control. The intensity of the game would pick up and we'd lose focus. And it was in those moments that I'd rise up and call a timeout. Timeouts give us a chance to stop or change momentum and refocus. They allow us to adjust our perspective and set up a fresh strategy. Timeouts gives us a quick rest and allows us to catch our breath. The powerful thing about a timeout is they don't have to be very long. Yeah, everyone loves long weekends and nice vacations to help us rest, regroup, and get caught up. But sometimes we can't wait that long. You know, I've worked with plenty of people and companies who have lost their vacations because they failed to schedule them before the end of the year. That's crazy to me. We tell ourselves that we don't have time to take a break or vacation because there's just too much to do. People are depending on me. I have deadlines. When I'm not here, everything falls apart. You know, we say these are signs of responsibility, commitment, loyalty to the organization. You know what I call them? I call that a God complex. We think that the company or organization could never survive without us. I hate to break it to you, but for most of us, the company existed before you. Were there. And it's going to be there long after you're gone. Some of you may be saying, but, but I am the company. I understand. You may be a founder or an owner or an entrepreneur, and you keep telling yourself, someday when I get along or we get further ahead, I'll be able to take that break. But for many of us, someday never seems to arrive. Can I tell you something? The best help you can give yourself and your organization is self help. The healthier you are, the more productive you will be. The healthier you are, the healthier your organization and your family and your future is. We all need to be intentional to schedule our time off, and then we need to take it. We need long weekends. We need our week's vacation. But unfortunately, those can be few and far between. But there is something you can do every day, even today. Several times a day, if necessary. Just like when I was coaching, when things started to get out of control or I felt overwhelmed, I called a timeout. They weren't long and involved. We had 60 to 90 seconds to breathe. Regroup, Refocus. You can do the same thing right now. Timeouts don't call themselves. You've got to be intentional and strategic when you call one and when you do. Here's two simple things you can do to relieve the stress and bring some peace to and focus back into your life. First, schedule a timeout today. Don't wait. Be intentional. Put it on your calendar, your smartphone, your watch. Schedule an appointment to take a timeout. A reminder that beeps on your watch, beeps on your phone and says, timeout. Breathe. There's even apps out there that will remind you to breathe. Which leads me to the second thing. Breathe. I know it sounds stupid, but breathing, simply breathing. It's free and it can be practiced anywhere. In fact, I bet you're breathing right now, aren't you? The key is focused deep breathing. Deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain. It stimulates the parasympathetic sympathetic. Let me try it again. The parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of calmness. Man. My friends, there's no greater investment than you can make than to invest in your own personal growth. And there's no better place to start than by scheduling a simple timeout. Timeouts are easy, they're quick, and you can do it today. Give yourself a break. Refocus, regroup, reenergize. And go at it again. Guys, thanks for being a part of this community as always. I'm Rick Torson, and I'M believing your best is yet to come.
