Quite an ambitious title, wouldn’t you say? Would anyone dare suggest that the exhaustion 75% of people (according to research) feel can be affected and even transformed into anything resembling exhilaration? This is what I’d like to address.

There’s a dramatically high percentage of people who have reported feelings of exhaustion and “burn out” in regards to their work life. Because we are humans and not machines, that sense of exhaustion doesn’t turn off at a certain time, like when we leave the workplace. It bleeds into and poisons all other areas of our lives.

For many of us, our headspace is what most establishes the healthfulness or disease we find in our workplace. This will be the ball of yarn we’ll bat around and unravel as we discuss this idea of exhaustion to exhilaration. And please don’t think that I think I have all the answers. But as I look around at those in my life and as I look at the cultural landscape and as I move around my community and overhear conversations, see worn faces, and experience the milieu, there’s something amiss.

If there’s going to be a move from one to the other, it’s going to be because a few things are firmly in place. Put simply, without these things in place there’ll always be a wobble to (or collapse of) the table we’re seeking to set for ourselves.

First, I want to invite you along with me into an exercise that might seem far too whimsical to be practical. But let’s just see where it goes. What I’m going to do and invite you to do along with me is to create a vision of your ideal existence (confessing that where you are isn’t it). That vision will do several things for you, but most importantly it will create the backdrop as well as the driving imagery you can make future decisions against. I’d wager that the reason we’re in the condition we’re in is largely because we don’t do the work of creating a vision to hold daily choices up to in order to see if they match up with where we actually want to go.

Here’s my ideal existence: I’m living in a place surrounded by nature. I have a body of water nearby, preferably a river or ocean, but I’d even be okay with a wide stream. I have a front porch and a back deck, each with sink-in comfy seating. I have a place to create. The creative process is what gives me such joy. The words I’m typing right now are part of that joy. I simply love to create; blog posts, woodworking, building, whittling, graphic design, drawing, writing my next message I’ll communicate to a group of people (large or small), and anything where something wasn’t there before and now it is. In my ideal existence, I get to connect with and influence/disciple young lives. I get to have a meaningful voice, not for my own ego but to share with them what’s real and true for the purpose of helping them step into and live the life that is the best fit for them. This might be in the local church setting, on a university campus as a professor or a chaplain, or it might be in some other complexion of being able to interact with the younger generation. When visioning happens within us, we are empowered to cut free from lesser versions that end up being depleting and exhausting.

It’s at this point that you need to resist the temptation to argue with your vision. Don’t bemoan the fact that it’s unrealistic or too far-fetched. After all, it’s your vision. Of course it feels that way. You’re just experiencing the tension between what is and what could/will be. I’ve done this a lot over the years and its never helpful…

I listen to a fair amount of podcasts that have to do with leadership, goals, planning, influence, forward motion, etc. And each time I do, I struggle to not internally dispense with a long list of grumpy reasons why they can and I can’t. I think things like “Well, of course they can say that. They’re on the New York Times best seller list.” or “That’s easy for you to say; you don’t have the demands, the schedule, or the stresses I have to carry.” I’ll even confess to you with a tinge of shame that I’ve even thought, “I can’t stand the way this guy enunciates. He’s always so chipper and positive. If we switched places, my life would knock that chipper right out of his mouth. Must be nice to humble-brag about your ‘green room conversations’ with so-and-so movers, shakers, and thought leaders. The only way I’ll ever see the inside of a green room is if I found some green paint on the ‘Oops, we mixed the wrong color’ sale section at Home Depot and painted my lousy room baby-crap green.”

We become exhausted when we don’t have any stake in the ground of our ideal existence. Even a few inches of ground can make a difference. If my boss is a complete hard-nosed, overly demanding psychopath seemingly determined to drive us and our joy into the ground BUT we have carved out a niche where there’s a glimpse of that vision that we can enjoy, then we can endure until we gain a few inches more.

The move from exhaustion to exhilaration is found in the often-times tiny movements from our current reality to our ideal reality. What might feel like a thousand mile journey is impacted by even the slightest progress, isn’t it? And where that progress is present, so is hope. And hope is an undeniable fuel in the journey.

So after you’ve created your ideal existence vision, choose any part of it that you can act on. Let’s say that part of your ideal existence involves driving a Karmann Ghia. Awesome. (Great choice, by the way.) Open up a separate account with your online bank and label it “Ghia”. Every paycheck, add $5, $10, $50 to that account. Celebrate the wins. Put an alert on your Ebay app so that when a Ghia becomes available, you know it. Become an expert on the specs of Karmann Ghias. Let that knowledge drive (pun intended) you to keep that vision of wind whipping through your Ghia-blown hair alive and well as you move inch-by-inch toward that key dangling from your keyring. You see, it isn’t just the attaining of the vision, but the achievements toward attaining the vision that are so empowering.

When I was learning to drive, I learned a rather valuable lesson for life as well as staying alive behind the wheel. When you turn your head while driving, you probably–without noticing it–turn your shoulders (even slightly) as well. This inadvertently turns the wheel ever so slightly. Without you realizing it, turning your head causes the wheel to turn. The lesson: You’ll go where you’re looking.

So I’ve got to ask: Where have you been looking? I’d bet that more than likely you’re right where your sight has led you. But vision is different than seeing. Bring that vision into the forefront and daily make decisions that propel that vision. Let’s call these “vision decisions”. One day during a round of golf with my dad, we decided together that we’d change our definition of a good shot as “closer to the hole”. That’s it. I could top the ball, slice it, hook it, shank it, or anything else you could do when trying to hit a golf ball. As long as it moved closer to the hole, that was a good shot. Maybe you need to redefine for yourself what a good shot is, and celebrate them. One vision decision per day. Super doable.

Next, bring in outside help. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating: Deciding to do something and telling no one about it is as good as not deciding to do anything. So who’s it gonna be? I have a person on my life that I meet with every other Wednesday. We keep track of direction, decisions, and vision and I tell him where I’m at with the vision I hold. It has quickly become one of my favorite meetings. I look forward to it every time, even when I haven’t moved forward much because I know it’s going to help me recalibrate and reset. So, who’s your outside help?

I recently read “Liturgy of the Ordinary” by Tish Harrison Warren. It’s such a great book. In it, Tish walks us through what would we would think is another mundane day and shows us where and how to see and experience the presence of God, even in the moments that are seemingly unremarkable. She pulls back the veil that oftentimes clouds our vision and stops us from seeing things in a far better light than just “that was another Monday”. In the closing chapter, Warren talks about sleep and its impact has on our entire existence. I wonder how you’re doing in that department? Most adult humans in America are not doing great when it comes to rest. The attitude seems to be that there’s not enough time and too much to do. But the issue of rest is so pivotal not just for your body, but for your mind, heart, and spirit as well. Think honestly about how you can get more of the rest you need. Do you even know how many hours your body needs? (I’ve learned my optimal amount is 7 hours exactly.) Make a decision about earlier bed times, midday mindfulness and mental rest exercises, naps, or a better approach to structuring your daily/weekly workload so it’s not so overloaded. If you’d like to see the tool I’m currently using to structure my week, email me and I’ll send you a copy. Figure out how to gain an extra hour of sleep tonight. Next week, add another half hour. In a week’s time, you’ve gain a whole extra hour of sleep. Go for another one if necessary. See what happens.

The most powerful step you can take is your next step. And I don’t mean to downplay it, but it doesn’t matter much what it is–just that you simply take it. So, decide. Are you going to make that call? Set that appointment? Invest in that tool to help you move toward that goal? Structure the day differently? Seek the advice of that person in the field who’s out there doing what looks a lot like your vision? Just decide.

We’ll move from exhaustion to exhilaration when we keep the vision God has placed in our hearts at the forefront of our minds, and make daily decisions that align with that vision, moving us in the direction of where we truly want to go. We’ll move from exhaustion to exhilaration when we release the excuses, the “yeah, but’s”, and the pride that so often keeps us from the forward motion we desire. We’ll move from exhaustion to exhilaration when we lift up our head and begin to see the opportunities instead of the obstacles. We’ll move from exhaustion to exhilaration when we take even the smallest step from where we are to where we’re going.

As always, I’d love to hear from you on anything you’ve read here. What steps are taking? What obstacles are you facing? I’d love the chance to encourage you and share with you on an even more personal level what I’ve been through, experienced, and how I wrestle to overcome those things. Email me at jvarner@southsidechurchva.org or text me at (804) 304-4669.