Good morning!
Have you ever been driving and cut it close on refilling before completely running out?
If you’ve ever done that or gotten close you’ll know that today’s modern cars will go from telling you the exact mileage you have left (ie 10 miles) to empty to just saying, “Low Fuel.” It’s basically the final warning that you are about to run out of gas.
And when you get into that “Low Fuel” zone, you’re playing with fire. It’s a giant risk. Push it too far - and there are some significant consequences waiting for you.
This takes me back to a long road trip I took a few years after college. Me and three buddies were outside of Acapulco, Mexico, driving a suburban with a giant trailer that had an ATV and two waverunners on it when we ended up with the “Low Fuel” warning.
In case you were wondering: you have about 5 miles til you are completely out of gas… and end up stranded on the side of the road in Mexico with the sun about to set.
The positive: I’m still here writing to you all these years, but I think it’s safe to say, we took a ridiculous risk and we got extremely lucky the consequences were not worse that day.
That experience in Mexico illuminates this truth: how much fuel we have in our tank should have an impact on the decisions we make.
The challenge for all of us: Our human tanks don’t have the same precision as modern cars. But if we pay attention to the signs, we can sense when we are approaching that “Low Fuel” zone.
Last week I told you that Q1 was a blurrrrrr for me - and in the midst I failed at something that was really important to me.
The reality is that I have been running hard since the turn of the year. Lots of travel, work, and commitments on top of the normal life stuff of being a husband, Dad, and friend.
My tank has been hovering near E, approaching the “Low Fuel” zone for a while. It’s not sustainable.
It’s like I’ve been going to the gas station and put in just enough to keep going. Sometimes it’s $5 or $10, but the car will keep running for a bit longer.
Can I keep living that way? Technically yes.
Should I and do I want to? No.
A few weeks back I had a moment that could have pushed me all the way to empty - but I had a choice to make that would determine the outcome.
MAXIMIZING MY TRAVEL
Travel is something that inherently comes with the work I do - but I’m always trying to be as efficient as possible with work trips.
I want to minimize my time away from Erin and the boys. After all, connection with them are vital parts of my Worthy Wins.
When I do travel there are a two things I lean into…
- Minimize the nights away (even if it means super early or super late flights)
- Maximize opportunities wherever I’m going (My old Nike friend Mike Yonker first told me about the idea of “2fors”, “3fors”, etc…. Aka 2 for 1s or 3 for 1s or better.)
So, I needed to be in Dallas for an event and I did everything I could to minimize the nights away and maximize the time in the Dallas area. The trip was scheduled for two nights away, and I had maximized the trip by also lining up a podcast recording in Waco.
I really wanted to go… even though I was close to running out of gas. It was going to be a great trip for me personally and professionally… as long as I could get there.
I had a 7pm flight scheduled so I could get in late to Dallas and then drive to Waco the next day for the podcast. The morning of my flight I got a weird email from American Airlines about rescheduling being an option. 🤔 Three hours later they sent a push notification that my flight was cancelled with no confirmation of a new flight. 😩
Erin and I proceeded to spend the next few hours trying to find me any flight that would get me to Texas in time to do the podcast. We tried Delta, Jet Blue, United, Southwest, and even Spirit. We’d find a flight, go through the checkout process, and then hit the final button to pay when an error message would appear saying that flight wasn’t actually available.
Turned out thousands of flights all over the country were being cancelled so there were very limited options.
As we looked into it further, I could have driven a few hours to Tampa or Fort Lauderdale and maybe got on a flight. Or gone to the Orlando airport to hope one of the delayed flights would actually take off.
Erin was fully supportive - but the thought of driving multiple hours away from home and/or getting stranded at the airport was daunting. My tank was already running low.
So I had a choice to make: was I going to red line myself and hope to make it to Dallas from one of these faraway airports or was I going to take the pushback I had encountered and let it guide me into resting?
There is always a choice.
THE CHOICE: RISK REDLINING OR REST
To be clear: I could have pushed for this trip to happen. But already being in the “Low Fuel” zone that would have come with a big risk of burnout if all the dominoes didn’t line up perfectly.
Burnout wasn’t inevitable, but it was a significant risk. Two four hour drives plus a night sleeping in an airport, or stranded in a connecting city would have pushed me over the edge.
So I had to decide: risk redlining or rest at home.
The truth is that I had been finding moments for rest in the chaos. That was the only reason I hadn’t redlined yet. I was observing a sabbath day every week - and I had taken some time off work during my boys’ spring break.
So, it wasn’t like I hadn’t rested at all. But there was just an overall cumulative push I had been leaning into.
There were a few questions that helped me decide it was okay to rest rather than risk redlining…
- NOW Do I have to do this trip now? Or could I reschedule?
- CERTAINTY If I go through the hoops to find a flight, is there relative certainty the flight will get me there to do what I need to do?
- WORTHY With those two answers in mind, am I going to look back on this trip and say it was worthy of the risk?
The answers to all three questions were no. Even though I could have tried to force it, the risk was too high.
Answering those questions made it easier for me to chose to embrace the trip falling apart and take a deep breath at home.
On top of it, my calendar was clear because I was supposed to be gone. That gave me a chance to rest after all busyness of the months before. And as much as I want to push myself… rest is important!
JESUS’ INVITATION TO REST
In chapter 6 of the book of Mark, Jesus and his disciples have been in a crazy period. I’m sure it was a blurrrr as they went out and were doing ministry all over the area. When they all came back together, Jesus invited them to take a breather.
“And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” Mark 6:31 (ESV)
Now they didn’t have cancelled flights, but it was clear they could have kept pushing. They didn’t have to stop. And yet, Jesus invited them to embrace a moment to catch their breath fully.
MY OUTCOME
My choice to reset led to an outcome that I had a good amount of control over. The alternative choice would have led me to an outcome I had little control over - including a high-likelihood of fully being out of gas mentally and physically.
Would that have been full on ‘burnout’? I don’t know. I’m not a scientist or therapist - but what’s clear is that the research in the space around burning out mentally paints a dire picture of the recovery time period. Best case it’s weeks… worst case, it’s much longer.
All I know is that I had been pushing hard, and this curveball would have been risky, and if I had fully burned out - I would have felt the consequences for much longer. Weeks or months of trying to get back to normal would have impacted my life significantly. And more importantly - it would have had a BIG impact on Erin and the boys who are so important to me.
The takeaway: How much fuel is in our tank matters and Worthy Wins require periods of rest.
We got lucky during that trip in Mexico all those years ago that the consequences weren't greater. This time I missed out on a trip I really wanted to go on, but I also didn’t run out of gas completely. And now, I’m feeling like my tank is finally filled back up.
If you’re on the edge of the “Low Fuel” Zone, it’s okay to take a breather.
A few reflection questions below.
Rooting you on!
Much love,
JO
THREE FUEL RELATED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
- FUEL TANK - How much fuel is in your proverbial tank? Full, half a tank, “Low Fuel”, EMPTY?
- NOW OR LATER - Is there anything you are doing right now or have coming up that would put you at risk of burnout and that you could pause on and do later?
- PHONE A FRIEND - Do you have a friend who seems like they are hovering in the “Low Fuel” Zone? If so, would you want to forward them my note as encouragement or give them a text/call to check in on them?
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