Today’s tip is this:

Working less is not necessarily the cure or prevention for burnout.

That might seem like a strange or even harsh statement, but there’s a quote from Patrick Lencioni in his book The 6 Types of Working Genius that explains why this is:

“…the type of work that a person does turns out to be much more important in regard to burnout than the volume of work. Some people can work long hours over extended periods of time in their areas of joy and passion, while others can work relatively few hours but experience severe burnout because they are doing work that robs they of joy and passion. It follows logically then that a person who is experiencing the first signs of burnout will not find relief simply by reducing the time they spend at work, even though that is often what we prescribe for them. What they need to do is spend more time doing what feeds them.”

So if you seem to have lost your joy and passion in what you do or are experiencing signs of burnout, take some time to think through the things that you are doing and what drains you versus what energizes you. Find ways, at work or outside of work, to spend more time doing the things that energize you.

Today’s tip comes in the form of a quote from Patrick Lencioni:

“Everyone has to do things they don’t like. But if we put someone in a job that requires them to do a lot of what they hate doing, we’re not being smart.”- Patrick Lencioni

As leaders and co-workers, getting to know those who are on our team and how they are wired is important. Setting the people on our team up for success and fulfillment, will ultimately help the team as a whole to be stronger and more successful.

Today’s tip comes in the form of a quote from Patrick Lencioni:

“People who utilize their natural, God-given talents are much more fulfilled and successful than those who don’t”. - Patrick Lencioni

Working with who God created you to be is always a better path than fighting against it. I don’t imagine any of us want to be less successful or less fulfilled than we could be, but understanding how God created, wired, and shaped us is important to being able to reach the potential He placed in us. That comes from first knowing and understanding God, and then also taking time to get to know how He specifically created us. Understanding our personality tendencies, our spiritual gifting, and even our Working Geniuses among other things all give us insights into how God created, gifted, and equipped us to best serve Him and others.

Find a way to get to know God and yourself better today.

Today’s Tip is this:

Take time to figure out how God has created and shaped you.

The more we understand who God has created and designed us to be, the more we will be able to show love and grace toward ourselves and others. When we don’t understand how we are wired and gifted we can struggle with the expectations we have for ourselves or that we feel that others place on us. As we understand more of who God created us to be, we feel less guilt for the areas that are not our strengths and appreciate those people whose strengths and gifts complement our weaknesses. We can also give that same understanding to others because we understand that God has created and gifted us all in different ways.

There are lots of ways that you can figure out how God has created and shaped you. Always start and end with prayer and surround any other tools that you use with prayer as well asking God to give you wisdom and insight. Consider a personality assessment like Myers-Briggs or DISC or the many others out there if you’ve never done that. Look into what the Bible says about spiritual gifts and consider a study on that like SHAPE, PLACE or many others. There are many other tools out there that will give you insights into specifics about how you were created and wired including the Working Genius model and many more. Take some time to learn more about how God has wired you.

In yesterday’s article we talked about the importance of letting gratitude fuel our wonder and worship. We hear all around us about the importance of gratitude, and yet we still struggle with it at times.

It is so easy to focus on our struggles and difficulties, the circumstances that we wish were different, how life feels unfair, and what we wish we had or were. All of these are distractions that take our eyes of God and who He is and what He has done for us. They cause us to become like spoiled children who are never content and really aren’t that pleasant to be around.

We don’t want to be that way, but it can be challenging to break the cycle at times. That’s for good reason. Jesus warned us in John 10:10 that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” What a better way to steal our joy and the abundant life that Jesus offers than to distract us from who He is and how much He has done for us.

So here is your tip for today:

Find ways to remind yourself to be grateful.

Gratitude may not come naturally for you. It might even feel like a struggle or battle. So give yourself some tools. Try out some different types of reminders and find something to consistently prompt yourself to be grateful. Maybe that is a picture or sign you’ll see you wake up. It could be a post-it note on your mirror or refrigerator. Maybe it’s a recurring reminder alarm you set on your phone or starting a gratitude journal. It could be any of these or more. You might need to try a few things to see what works best for you, but allowing gratitude to become a habit will be well worth it.

So, what are some reminders you use to remind yourself to be grateful? Share in the comments.

Today’s tip comes from the Scripture passage we looked at in yesterday’s article, Luke 5:26. It said that “Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

They wondered at what God had done, but it didn’t end there. They immediately praised God. This week’s tip is very similar to last week’s, but it is definitely one that bears repeating:

When you see the wonder around you, celebrate it by praising God. 

Today’s tip is this:

Wonder should lead to worship.

When we see God working, that should fill us with awe and amazement and wonder. That wonder that we feel should be given back to God. Wonder at what He has done and is doing should make us realize just how worthy He is of our worship.

Our response to wonder should always be to worship God who made it possible. That might mean landing on our knees in prayer of humility, confession, praise or adoration. It might be worshipping Him with a song of praise. It might be worshipping through sharing our testimony of His work with others. There are numerous ways we can worship Him, but wonder should always lead to worship.

Easter is a busy season and it’s easy to find ourselves “getting through it” and ready to move on to the next event, emphasis, holiday, curriculum, series, or whatever is pulling our attention next. Here’s a really quick, probably obvious tip, but one we probably all need to be reminded of too:

Don’t lose sight of the Wonder of Easter just because Easter is over.

The wonder that we see in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection is what it is all about. It’s why we do what we do. It’s what makes us who we are.

Don’t move on from the wonder of Easter, but carry it with you.

Today’s tip is inspired by Habakkuk 1:5 which says:
  
“Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days--
You would not believe if you were told.”


Reading this verse, brings this tip to mind:


Keep your eyes open to what God is doing around you.


It’s too easy to get distracted by all the pressures and pleasures of the world around us even, and maybe especially, in ministry. Remember to keep your eyes and your trust in God!

Today's tip is a simple one, but an important one:

We all could use more wonder in our lives. Our world today has so many challenging and tough things, and we can all use more wonder. The great thing about wonder and awe is that it's completely shareable. We don't lose any of it by sharing, and it fact sometimes it even increases when we share it with others.

So when you open your eyes today and see the wonders God has placed around you, don't keep it to yourself, but make sure you share it with someone else.