I Got Nuthin’
I tried to write something insightful for you this week. I brainstormed, reflected, even rested with it. I thought some more…
I got nothin’.
That’s unusual for me. In the normal rhythm of preparing the Monday Morning Stretch, something eventually rises to the surface. A leadership lesson. A personal experience. An observation. A tension. A question worth exploring.
Something always shows up. But as the saying goes, “never say always” – because this week, it didn’t.
And there’s no obvious reason why.
I don’t feel overly fatigued.
I’m not behind.
I’m not carrying an unusual amount of stress.
My mind is not blank.
I’m not burned out or disengaged.
I simply didn’t have anything meaningful to say.
At first, that bothered me. Leaders are expected to have something to say.
People look to us for direction, perspective, encouragement, answers, opinions, and occasionally something profound.
When the room gets quiet, people often look toward the leader. They want direction, clarity, and/or a sense of purpose for being there.
And there are certainly moments when leadership requires us to speak. But today I wanted to emphasize that not every moment of expectation requires it.
Sometimes the pressure to say something causes us to manufacture it. We offer an opinion because one is expected. We fill silence because silence feels uncomfortable. We speak with certainty when we aren’t actually certain. We add words because leadership has somehow convinced us that silence looks weak.
I don’t believe that. Silence can be a form of wisdom, too.
Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. – Proverbs 17:28
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. – James 1:19 - 20
There is a time to speak. And there is a time to remain silent. Good leaders learn the difference.
So, in keeping with the thesis of this week’s Monday Morning Stretch, I have nothing more to say.
Sometimes you won’t, either. And that’s OK.
Blessings to you, my friends!
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This Week’s Resource Recommendation:
"The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction"
- Adam S. McHugh
From Amazon: How would our lives change if we approached every experience with the intention of listening first?
In this noisy, distracting world, it is difficult to truly hear. People talk past each other, eager to be heard but somehow deaf to what is being said. Listening is an essential skill for healthy relationships, both with God and with other people. But it is more than that: listening is a way of life.
Adam McHugh places listening at the heart of our spirituality, our relationships and our mission in the world. God himself is the God who hears, and we too can learn to hear what God may be saying through creation, through Scripture, through people. By cultivating a posture of listening, we become more attentive and engaged with those around us. Listening shapes us and equips us to be more attuned to people in pain and more able to minister to those in distress.
Our lives are qualitatively different―indeed, better―when we become listeners. Heed the call to the listening life, and hear what God is doing in you and the world.
MMS 26-33
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