07 Jul Sabbaths are crucial for your business and your sanity

The word “Sabbath” is often described as a day of religious observance and abstinence from work. For Jews, this is/was typically Saturday and for Christians on Sunday. Whether you have a spiritual discipline that you practice or not, it has been proven that rest is necessary for the body to function at its peak. Just as our bodies need designated times for sleep every single day, our lives need dedicated days of non-work as well.

Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” 

― Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now

Sabbath rest doesn’t mean the pursuit of nothingness or the absence of work, but in practice, I often choose to focus my attention on things that don’t involve my weekday profession. It allows me to personally remove myself from projects and processes that I do Monday through Friday… so when Monday rolls back around, I am able to pursue my tasks with fresh eyes and a renewed energy for them.

Activity and rest are two vital aspects of life. To find a balance in them is a skill in itself. Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have. Finding them in each other – activity in rest and rest in activity – is the ultimate freedom.” 

― Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge 1995-2000

One of my favorite ways to take a break is to get off of Oahu for a few days or a few weeks and remove myself from my day to day work. Traveling to a country half way across the world is a great way to turn the work brain off… not react to emails and forget about the stresses of responsibilities. I travel a bit for work, but traveling with Joanne (just for fun) is one of my favorite things to do. Whether it’s a quick trip to Korea or couple days on Maui, the distance from our home and work makes all the difference in the world.

Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.

― Colin Powell