The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

In the late-1990’s Willow Creek Community Church Pastor John Ortberg once called his mentor, Dallas Willard, and asked him what he needed to do to become the “me I want to be”?  Willard answered, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

Ortberg points out that hurry involves an excessive haste or a state of urgency. It is associated with words such as hurl, hurdle, hurly-burly (meaning “uproar”), and hurricane. It is defined as a “state of frantic effort one falls into in response to inadequacy, fear, and guilt.” The simple essence of hurry is too much to do!

We should take it as our aim to live our lives entirely without hurry. We should form a clear intention to live without hurry. One day at a time, starting today.

The average iPhone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times a day. By way of contrast, the psalmist said, “I have set the LORD always before me” (Psalm 16:8). What would your life be like if God touched your mind as frequently as you touch your phone?

The apostle Paul wrote, “[Make] the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).

Ortberg urges, “Take a deep breath. Put your cell phone away. Let your heart slow down. Let God take care of the world.”

Let’s turn to John Mark Comer for his advice on how to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of our modern world.

Click here for a summary of Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

The New HR Leader’s First 100 Days 

In 2013, I found myself at a career crossroads.  I had served as Deputy HR Director at NASA’s Johnson Space Center since 2010, and it was unclear what was next.  So, I started looking around for various career development resources.  I also sought a rotation outside of HR—since The Chief HR Officer noted that most top HR leaders had spent time outside the function. 

Additionally, I ran across Alan Collins’ site SuccessInHR.com and heeded his advice: “Take your Human Resources career to the next level by launching your own HR blog!”  Since my personal mission is To Improve Leadership Wherever I Go, I went with a blog about leadership instead of a sole focus on HR.  To get started, I found Collins’ book Start Your Own Awesome HR Blog an instructive and invaluable resource. 

As I faced another major career transition earlier this year—moving from a 28-year career at NASA to the role of Vice President for Human Resources at a non-profit, Space Center Houston—I again turned to Alan Collins.  His 2019 book The New HR Leader’s First 100 Days: How To Start Strong, Hit The Ground Running & Achieve Success Faster As A New Human Resources Manager, Director or VP again provided invaluable advice.   

Click here for Collins’ 15 Proven Rules to help you start strong, hit the ground running, and guide you to success faster