Sometimes, in order to move faster, we need to slow down. In order to see better, we need to close our eyes for a while. And in order to progress, we need to take an occasional step back. It seems counterintuitive, but some of the most successful people know that success doesn’t come just from relentless pushing—we actually do better if we have regular moments of rest.
Liz Wiseman, an executive in the demanding business world, recently wrote in Fortune magazine of what she calls “the power of pausing.” “On Sundays,” she explains, “I shut out the world. For me, it’s a Sabbath observance, an opportunity to rest from responsibilities and focus on other purposeful activities, such as devotion and family…. While my Sunday routine varies somewhat, there is one thing that remains consistent: I don’t work.”1
The idea of a weekly day of rest is literally as old as the earth and is part of many religious traditions. While some find it old fashioned in today’s world, others have found that it’s exactly what the modern world needs. One college student, after an especially hectic semester, decided to observe a weekly day of rest, where she sets homework aside and focuses more on everlasting things. When she resumes her schoolwork on Monday, she has a sharper mind, a refreshed body, a renewed spirit. Her week seems to go better.
A busy family juggling a demanding schedule made a similar decision. On their Sabbath day, they gather together as a family, eat together, converse, visit loved ones, and worship. They fortify their faith and their family. It has become a day that everyone in the family cherishes.
A day of rest could include a break from the digital world, an hour or two with a good book, a walk in nature, or simply some unstructured quiet time. It might mean more time with family or friends—laughing together, talking together, just spending time together. It might mean that instead of thinking about our to-do lists, we think about things of eternal consequence.
Liz Wiseman offers this advice: “Everyone deserves a ‘Sabbath’ of some sort. So this Sunday, go ahead and disconnect. Hit the pause button. Devote yourself to something other than work. Relax with family and friends. Or, simply re-center yourself in the universe.”2
-Lloyd D. Newell
1. “Why This Executive Never Works on the Weekend,” Fortune, May 21, 2015, fortune.com/2015/05/21/liz-wiseman-sunday-routine.
2. “Why This Executive Never Works on the Weekend.”
September 25, 2016
Broadcast Number 4,541
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductor
Mack Wilberg
Organist
Andrew Unsworth
Host
Lloyd Newell
Praise Ye the Lord
John Rutter
Hallelujah Chorus, from Christ on the Mount of Olives
Ludwig van Beethoven
Love Is Spoken Here
Janice Kapp Perry; arr. Sam Cardon
Restoration
American hymn tune; arr. Gilbert M. Martin
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
English melody; arr. Mack Wilberg
The Prayer
Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster
How Firm a Foundation
Attributed to J. Ellis; arr. Mack Wilberg