A friend offered to take me out to eat the other day. When I politely declined, he asked why.
“Oh, I like how the food tastes at that restaurant. But I always feel like garbage after eating there.”
Richard Rohr regularly teaches on the “second half of life.” I’m not sure I am there emotionally or spiritually, but I am there physically. And as I embrace the second half, I am much more aware of my feelings.
- I am aware that when I eat certain foods, I feel bad.
- I am aware that when I get enough sleep, I feel better.
- I am aware that when I spend time outside, I feel more peaceful.
I have read countless leadership books and attended several conferences. I have listened to hundreds of leadership podcasts, and very few have talked about how important how you feel is to your leadership aptitude.
But as I journey into the second half of my leadership life, I can see that how I feel impacts my leadership dramatically.
For example, I felt irritated, agitated and anxious a few years ago. Hope drained from my spirit, and I was no fun. (To be fair, I’m not a life-of-the-party guy anyway.)
Someone wise once said, “The questions you ask are more important than the answers.”
Thus I started asking, “Why do I feel this way?”
It took a little while, but I finally figured it out. Spending time on Twitter made me irritated, agitated and anxious, and those emotions would spill over into every area of my life.
So, I changed my password to a random list of characters I could not remember and logged out.
And within a few days, I started feeling better.
Here’s the bottom line: The habit of checking Twitter affected my outlook on life and my leadership aptitude.
So, I quit.
This is an inescapable truth: Your habits affect how you feel, and how you feel impacts your leadership.
So, I will leave you with two questions about your current habits:
- Which ones make you feel good, hopeful and encouraged?
- Which ones make you feel irritated, agitated and anxious?
Do more of the first. And DO WHATEVER you can to quit the second!
