#441 Charger. It can’t do all the work.

A dead phone, a nearby charger, and a leader who needs to make an urgent call—sometimes the most ordinary moments reveal the biggest gaps in how we live and lead. We use that everyday scene to unpack a hard truth: you can’t pour into others if you never plug in yourself. Rather than treating rest as a reward for surviving chaos, we frame it as a core responsibility that keeps your presence sharp, your decisions clean, and your relationships cared for.

As the calendar floods with travel, parties, deadlines, and family traditions, even good things can drain us. We share a simple framework for navigating the season without redlining your battery. Think in terms of energy budget, not just time: space high-drain events with low-stimulus recovery, protect a weekly reset, and build small rituals that lower the friction to rest. From sleep consistency to micro-breaks, from device rules to a daily shutdown, we offer practical ways to make recharging non-negotiable so you return ready for the moments that matter.

Along the way, we challenge the myths that keep us stuck in overdrive: momentum isn’t speed, rest isn’t indulgence, and availability isn’t the same as readiness. The charger becomes a cue for gratitude and growth—each plug-in a reminder to breathe, release tension, and reconnect with what gives you life. We close with an open invitation to reflect: what growth lessons does a charger prompt for you, and how will you build them into your routine? If this sparked a shift, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s running on empty, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

https://growthinstigators.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Core Metaphor
• 0:27 The Dead Phone Parable
• 0:36 Rest As Leadership Duty
• 1:04 Holiday Busyness And Burnout
• 1:23 The Choice To Plug In
• 2:05 Invitation To Share Lessons

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to message 441 of the Growth Instigators Hotline. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. This week we are talking about a charger. An everyday normal object that we can assign deeper meaning to, something that can remind us of a bigger truth. Welcome to part one of five as we dive into lessons we can learn from a charger. A coach scrabbed their phone to make an urgent call, but it was dead. The charger sat unused nearby. Leaders can't pour into others if they never recharge themselves. Rest is responsibility, not just a luxury. As we begin to head into Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, may the Charger remind us of some deeper truths. I don't know about you and your schedule. If it's anything like mine though, it is full. F-U L exclamation mark. Exclamation mark even. Sometimes even good and fun calendar events can be draining. Stack a few of those together, along with a cup or two of eggnog and dress up events and oh yeah, work and life. And let's not get caught with our battery dead. A charger. The basic function is to charge. Voila! Yet it can't do it alone. The phone or watch or whatever you're wanting to use must be placed or plugged in. The user must make a conscious decision to stop using that item, let it rest, and let it charge. So it's optimal the next time it is picked up. Yet we think we can go and go and go with minimal recharging. Let's be a people that take our own charging as seriously as we take charging our phones. Ooh, that hurts. That, my friend, is how a common everyday object can instigate growth. Tune in tomorrow as we talk about part two of what we can learn from a charger. I'd like to hear some more of your observations. What growth lessons can you apply to a charger? For those of you calling the Growth Instigator Hotline, I'd love to hear your thoughts after the beep, or you can send me a text. And for those of you listening in on our podcast, visit growth instigators.com and send me your thoughts. Make them good. I can't wait to hear what they are. Let's never see a charger the same.