Leaders can often find ourselves restrained by many little things. A lot of little stuff that keeps us busy, but not productive. Those things that can hold us captive from what could be.
Restrained by Many Little Things
While on my morning walk the other day, I was listening to a podcast that referenced Gulliver’s Travels. If you haven’t read it or watched the movie, here is the synopsis. Lemuel Gulliver goes on four voyages that each have their own special adventures.
The first thing I pictured when I heard Gulliver’s Travels was a scene from one of those voyages. He found himself shipwrecked on the island of Lilliput. He swims ashore as the only survivor. Exhausted, he falls asleep once he reaches dry land.
The inhabitants of the island were extremely tiny people, making Gulliver seem huge. They feared this big, sleeping giant. So, they did what any normal tiny people would do in this situation, tied the big guy down with many little ropes. It’s always THE image I associate with the story.
It got me thinking about that image’s correlation to leadership. How often are we restrained from where we desire to go because we are tied down by many little things? Here are three examples of those tiny little things that restrain our leadership:
Time
The one thing we do not get more of is time. We do not receive an infinite supply of it, in fact, we never really know how much of it we have left.
Time can be the greatest restraint each of us face. There are only twenty-four hours in a day. Six to eight of that gets taken away by sleep. The rest is consumed with the demands of the day. Whatever our “busy” is that leaves us drained and constrained.
Here is humbling thought for leaders…we have just as many hours in the day as Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther, King Jr., and Nelson Mandela. That goes for any great historical leader. They managed to change the world! These historic leaders just chose to fill their time with purposeful and passion driven work. They were difference makers with what little time they were given.
It’s the simple prioritization of the time we have that can lead to making every second count.
Busyness
Think about this, what is your response ninety-nine percent of the time when someone asks you, “How’s life?” “Busy”…that’s right! It is our programmed response to everything. I know it is for me at least. Busy is one of those many little things that restrains me.
There is a great episode of the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast where he talks about busyness and that exact response to a question of that nature. He said that we should answer, “focused.” Interesting…right?
We cannot be busy and focused at the same time. Busy is restrictive. Focused is productive. Try to answer the question that way the next time we are asked. Then share what we are focused on…the meaningful work we do.
Problems
There are two types of people in this world, those who have problems and those who are liars! Just like a basement, we all collect junk along our journeys! Sickness problems, injury problems, addiction problems, financial problems, kid problems, parent problems, relationship problems, work problems, or whatever may apply problems. They may not even be big, but combined with all the other little problems can be too much weight to bear. It can tie us down and restrain us from moving forward.
In a leader’s world, there are two major opportunities for problems, projects and people. Projects are task driven and the fix is a practical solution. People on the other hand require customized solutions. Customization requires intentional energy and effort.
People problems can be one of the most suffocating restraints placed on our abilities to lead. It requires perspective, one in which prioritizes others over us. Leadership is sacrificial, at times temporarily restraining our own growth for the growth of others.
My Paw Paw always told me that the hardest thing I would ever do is lead people. As wise as he was, he failed to teach me that it could also be the most rewarding thing I would ever do.
Conclusion
There are certain little things that bring great satisfaction in life. Things like rain on a tin roof, the warmth of a fire, watching a sunset, the crack of a wood bat on a baseball, a put hitting the bottom of the cup, the swish of a basketball net, and popping bubble wrap. One of those odd things for me like the bubble wrap is cutting a string under extreme tension. There is just something satisfying about a knife barely touching the surface, then the stress the string is under completely being released in an instant.
Imagine how Gulliver felt as he gained the trust of the Lilliputians and they began to cut away all the little ropes restraining him. With the release of every little rope, he must have felt big relief. Slowly but surely, he regained the use of his arms and legs. Little by little he was able to get back on his feet and get on to his next adventure.
What if that was the picture of us? What if we could slowly cut away all the little things that restrain us from being the leader we desire to be? How satisfying would that be?
Maybe…just maybe, if we could free ourselves up, we could be a person worth following. A difference maker that would be etched into the hearts and minds of those that mean the most to us.
Cut away the insignificant little things in our worlds so we can be freed up to tackle the big things that matter…people.