I'm writing my first blog post from Belgrade, Serbia during my first week of sabbatical from UBC. I plan on lots of traveling, lots of reading, and hopefully lots of inspiration during this three month period.
What's with the title of this blog? My first book I'm reading is Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro. Chapter one states "Serotonin is a chemical like an endorphin. It's a natural, feel-good hormone. It replenishes during times of rest and then fuels you while you're working. If, however, you continue to drive yourself without replenishing, your store of serotonin will be depleted. As a substitute, your body will be forced to replace the serotonin with adrenaline.
"The problem is that adrenaline is designed for emergency use only. Its's like those doors in a restaurant that when opened cause an alarm to sound. Our problem, though, is that we use these pathways designed for emergency only, but no alarm sounds. Not at first, anyway.
"Should you continue to run on adrenaline, it will destroy your system. You will burn out sooner on the inside than you're able to see on the outside. The fuel of adrenaline that keeps your engines running in the beginning will turn on you and destroy you in the end."
It goes on to say that Type A leaders especially, can fall into depression, anxiety, isolation, or simply indecision. I'm not there yet, but am very thankful that UBC has allowed me to take three months off to rest and educate myself so I can rebuild my serotonin, and come back refreshed and ready to work again! I'll try to update on our trips and what God is teaching me.
