The Champion’s Brew is a weekly assembly of material I am reading, listening to, or watching that is designed that I have found intriguing and may help to equip and call you to uncommon leadership. I often add my own little spin based on my takeaways and would love your input as well. Any of the points especially impact you? Drop me a note at [email protected], or comment on the blog to keep the conversation going! I believe you will discover that the format is not only useful, but also that you can consume it within the time it takes you to enjoy your daily ‘brew’! Become a member of the Champions Brew Nation by subscribing here!!
Here is your weekly drink of what I have been reading and experimenting with to help me to:
- Worry Less: Let’s face it… we all get frustrated. That is normal. But, the question is how do you RESPOND when you are frustrated? I will admit that I will sometimes let frustration get the best of me and it shows. I am always trying to manage that. One of the resources that I follow is called All Pro Dad that has a post every once in a while that hits me. This one did and it was helpful: 4 Healthy Ways to Manage Frustration (Notice, it isn’t called 4 ways to ELIMINATE frustration! AND, you don’t have to be a ‘Dad’ to be frustrated. The 4 ways outlined are:
- Exercise Regularly – This is one of the reasons exercise is so important to me. I attempt to work out some frustration in the gym.
- Change Your Expectations – For instance, if you’re driving on a multiple-lane road, you know drivers will drive too slowly in the fast lane. It’s like he rides in the car with me!!
- Read Scripture – Reading scripture (e.g., a Chapter a day in Proverbs) helps to point out to me where I might be part of the problem as well. I had a leader who challenged me with a very reflective question – “What part of the problem am I?”
- Dedicate Time to Leisure – Planned down time… critical… Don’t wait until the tank is on empty and the frustration warning lights comes on before re-energizing. It may be too late!
- Love Always: A recent read in John Maxwell’s Promises for Every Day was very timely for me. The title of the daily entry was “Care Enough to Confront”. I am just going to share the entire excerpt here:
Many people avoid confrontation. Some fear being disliked and rejected. Others are afraid confrontation will make things worse by creating anger and resentment in the person they confront. But avoiding confrontation always worsens the situation. Confrontation CAN be a win-win if you do it with respect and the other person’s best interest at heart. Here are 10 guidelines to help you confront positively (it must be important if there are this many guidelines!!
- Confront ASAP
- Address the wrong action, not the person.
- Confront only what the person can change
- Give the person the benefit of the doubt.
- Be specific.
- Avoid sarcasm
- Avoid words like “always” and “never”
- If appropriate, tell the person how you feel about what was done wrong.
- Give the person a game plan to fix the problem
- Affirm him or her as a person or a friend.
I had underlined 2,3,5 and 7 as ones that especially hit me. Which ones do you feel are really good guidelines?
What you need to do:
Call to Action: These are really good pieces. Reflect on both and ask yourself what you can do over the next week to improve in one of these areas. A process I like to use after reflection is: What is one thing I should KEEP doing? What is one thing I should START doing? What is one thing I should STOP doing? What are you going to do? Drop me a note [email protected] or comment in the blog post.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Champions Brew. If you enjoyed it, I would appreciate it if you would share it with a friend who might enjoy it as well and ask them to subscribe! I will make sure they automatically get this email every week.
Also, the Uncommon Leader podcast is growing! Click HERE for a list of the episodes of interviews I have done with Uncommon leaders. It has been enjoyable for me and I know the guests will add value to you as well !
Until next time, go and Grow Champions!
2 Responses
John, thanks again for the reminders. Much of what you have identified is about mental health and is sorely needed and should be a priority for all of us.
I try to remind myself of a visual, which is a clear glass jar with water in it… which represents my volume tolerance for stress, frustration, and negative thoughts. As I get stressed, frustrated, or are thinking too much within myself, the jar fills with so much water… to the point it overflows and spills all around me, on me, and unfortunately on others. Any other little item that comes at me will cause more spills until I do something to mitigate my tolerance jar. The things you mention are smart ways to empty the water from the jar a little at a time so that I am able to keep the water in the jar at a manageable or better yet, healthy level.
Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing, Keith. I love the visual.