I have to laugh at myself, as an amazing book was recommended to me about a year ago, but while working full time I never could find the time to read it. Now I am enjoying some time to read, listen and reflect about the world around me before I dive back into work, I can actually read 'Thank you for being late', Thomas L. Friedman in the pause. Thank you life.
In 'Thank you for being late', Thomas L. Friedman analyses the tectonic forces creating dizzying and accelerating speed in our lives. He says time "to pause and reflect [...] increases the odds that you'll better understand, and engage productively with, the world around you." The title of the book comes from his realisation that he was grateful when friends were late to meet him for coffee, as it gave him precious time to reflect. And this was really the only way he got any time to reflect in his busy life - scary but it felt like my life too, as I'm sure it does for you.
How can we find time to pause and reflect?
How do you find time to learn?
As many people (including Friedman) say, because life is speeding up, learning is the only way we'll be able to (at least partially) keep up. I like this trend, as I love learning but even though I love it, I still find it hard to fit into my life. One of the ways I squeeze learning into my life is listening to podcasts while driving - oh the joy of multitasking in this way - sometimes I even look forward to going on a long drive to Pak n Save, to pick up my step daughter, or even being stuck in Auckland traffic - unbelievable I know.
One of my favourite podcasts recently featured Jeff Weiner talking to Oprah about compassionate leadership. Such a great point of view - imagine if we could spread compassionate leadership around the workplace. You can listen here or watch on Facebook. You can also learn more about Jeff's thoughts on Compassionate leadership from his LinkedIn course.
How do we help spread compassionate leadership?
I hope you've found some space in the pace this week, some time to pause, even if it is just speed reading this (cue deep breath now) or being stuck in traffic - enjoy!
See more at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-do-we-find-time-reflect-anna-kingston