I found my fuel tank had gone into the reserve zone. You know the place you reach when a little light starts flashing on the dashboard and a message pops up reminding you to find a fuel station soon. In the old days, before smart cars or gauges existed, things were different. It was only when your car suddenly started choking and came to a shuddering halt that you realised you were out of gas. The trusty jerry can or emergency stash always came to the rescue. Unfortunately with all the smart tech around, we no longer have a jerry can handy.
The good news is with these new gauges, if you care to look at them or listen to them, you know a little bit ahead of time that you are going to run out of fuel. That happened to me last Sunday. After many, many weekends, the ritual of a family walk did not happen. Why? Because I just did not feel like it. In fact we did not feel like it. Maybe if one of us had the energy or inclination it would have lifted all the others and carried us through, but that was not the case.
For a variety of reasons the special trip into a city forest or park along with the family, that recharges my soul for the week, was something that I could not muster the energy and enthusiasm to go and plug into. To me that is a sign, one that I must listen to that the car is running on fumes. Sometimes the engine needs to just switch off. To rest. Wheels need to stop turning to keep turning. Maybe that is what that Sunday was about. Just resting. Listening. Checking in with the different parts, tuning them up, changing the oil maybe or tyre pressure and wheel balancing. It could be any one or all of these things that need attention. It’s not just about getting a full tank of fuel. That’s important for sure, but the car needs attention too. The driver needs to be in good shape. All the parts need to be in sync and then the miles slip away.
The journey continues with a pitstop to check in and check what’s going on under the hood. I’m not sure what I will find, but find it I will. And then we will be off to explore new parks and forests again. Pause to recharge and then charge ahead again.
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A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
This is a very important reminder for all of us to take a break and not be under the fear of left behind in the rat race.