People who try to run on E will end up not running

I often share about the importance of having hobbies, and things that you do that allow you to exhale, relax, and just enjoy being alive. One of those things for me is hunting. Hunting for me is far less about harvesting an animal and providing healthy meat for my family, than it is about being in nature, relaxing, and being thankful to be alive. To me, a hunt’s success is not just measured by the harvesting of an animal, it’s measured by the ability to relax, and reflect. If we don’t take time to do the things that we enjoy, the things that make us feel alive, the things that allow us to relax and disconnect for a little while, then we can easily end up living a stagnant life. Let me clarify by saying, I love my job, I love the things I’ve been created to do, I love working hard, I love pouring into other people, I love creating businesses that allow other people to live their dreams.

I love the things that I do that are part of my life, but being able to disconnect and relax is fuel for all of those things. 

My wife loves to shop, but the beauty of it is that for her, she gets more joy out of shopping for others than she does for herself. Shopping to her is fun, joyful, and relaxing. It allows her to bless others, and ultimately disconnect for a little bit. When she’s shopping, she doesn’t need to worry about the other things going on. Shopping fills her up and fuels her, whereas for me shopping is pretty exhausting. The point is that everyone fills up differently, but typically “filling up” is related to disconnecting from the things that pull on us, and require us to “burn fuel” (even if they’re good things that we enjoy). 

You know what helps you relax, disconnect, and fuel up. I challenge you to make time for those things. Life gets busy, and we can easily commit ourselves to too much, so it’s important to continually be filling up our tank. You can only pour out what you have to pour out, so gauge the reservoir, and take a break when you need to. Getaway, relax, disconnect, and fuel up so that you can actually accomplish the other things in life with excellence. People who try to run on E will end up not running. (I say that as someone who pushes too hard sometimes) It is absolutely crucial to recharge. 

I guarantee you that if you implement this principle in your life, the other areas around you will begin to flourish. Getaway, disconnect, relax, and enjoy being alive.