Create the Time & Space

May 26, 2020 2:00 pm

It's not enough to be inclined toward deep thought and sober analysis; a leader must create time and space for it.


→ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key


[[]----[]]


In the middle of all the current stress & uncertainty, all the disappointment & frustration, there is a unique opportunity.


It is an opportunity born of the space created by the shutdown, the space imposed on us, the space that has allowed us - or forced us - to take a deep breath & ask some questions.


If you're like me, you aren't always good at creating this kind of space for yourself. It's too easy to focus our energies on the grind. It's too easy just to put our heads down & hustle.


Hustle is useful & necessary, of course.


But so is slowness & stillness & the space to think.


So is giving ourselves permission to explore new ideas, different directions, & fresh perspectives.


In all the misfortune COVID19 has introduced to our lives, one thing it has offered us is the chance to sit.


That sitting has taught each of us some things.


Maybe it's taught us that we needed the rest. Or maybe it's reminded us of how much we love what we do - something we might have lost sight of when our mornings always seemed to begin with an inbox full of fires that we needed to extinguish.


The sitting might have been revelatory - the pause we needed to finally hear the voice in our head that's been telling us to move on, or dive deeper, or turn left. Or it might have been debilitating, which is a useful lesson in & of itself.


Whatever the sitting & the silence has revealed, whatever lessons we've been able to extract from the stillness, it's time now to start acting.


If you're like me, you're filled with new ideas & anxious for the world to get moving again so you can implement them. Even with all the uncertainty & the imperfections that are sure still to come, there is some excitement. There is an anticipation of action that is hard to manufacture.


As we haltingly get to return to movement again, let's work hard to keep sight of the two elements that gave birth to these new ideas & new possibilities, these important wake-up calls & reminders of the weaknesses we still get to shore up.


The first was challenge.


While this particular challenge is unprecedented & intense, challenges will always be present & will always visit us as we work to make change. We can count on them, & we should be ready as best we can.


It's the second element, though, that I hope we work to remember.


That is the stillness & the space afforded us these last few months - the space to think, the space to spend time with those closest to us, & rekindle the fire in our bellies for the work we are meant to do.


Let's keep sight of what we learned from the quiet & the questions as we get back to being busy. Let's keep sight of the awareness that was created as the world begins to get loud again.


If we do that well, we will continue to give ourselves the space to explore the possibilities, to examine what we're building from every angle, & to construct the next experiment - the one that might finally create the breakthrough we've been seeking.


This pandemic has taken so much from us. Let us take at least this lesson from it: That we are only able to see as far into our future as we are able to breathe deeply, & we are only able to breathe deeply when we do it on purpose.


Clarity won't come unless we make it a priority. Good ideas won't come until we give space for them. The evolution we're all working toward won't happen by hustle alone.


Our role as builders of things & makers of change demands that we strike the right balance between moving fast & thinking hard, between making decisions & asking questions.


These last few months have forced us to do the latter, more than we wished for, more than we wanted.


But as we enter into this next phase, as our wheels begin to spin again, let's remember that there are answers in the hustle & the stillness. Let's not forget that it's up to us to respect both equally.


That's how we'll anticipate problems & design experiments. That's how we'll measure the value of our ideas. That's how we'll impact more people, more deeply.


[[]----[]]


A version of this essay can be heard on the Open Gym podcast - a show that exists to amplify the best ideas from the brightest minds in the gym business.

Comments
avatar VFNJCHaTnqKujhA
oNzjPsWyHf
avatar VFNJCHaTnqKujhA
zvEVcroukXwHOgSC