It’s Not Burnout. It’s the Redline.

Redline.

One loses a race.

One forfeits.

Engines? Replaceable.
Maybe the same day.

Relationships.
Careers.
Mental health.
Faith.

Take a while to be rebuilt.

The redline?

Dangerous.
Destructive.

Seductive.

You don’t need to be a race car driver to know the term.
They have a shift light that tell them when to change gears.

We see the light flash…
But miss the meaning.

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RE|cap: Sometimes we need to slow down before we speed up. RE| is the pause that allows us to reset…with precision.

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Why Living at the Limit is Appealing
Living at Redline

“Anyone can crash a car…very few can dance on the limit…”
We like to live right there.

The movie F1 described it as “…silence…”
Other describe it as winning,,,no matter what.

Drivers have a tachometer.
Right next to the speedometer.

What happens under the hood is as important as what’s happening on the track.
The team gets a read out in real time.
For real time corrections based on fact.

Not guesses.
Not assumptions.

We don’t.

Redline on a track, engines smoke.
Then blow.

Redline at work or home.

Burnout and decision fatigue.
Deconstruction.

Silence.

We hear,

“Be more…”
“Do more…”
“Get more…”

Seductive.

Dangerous.
Destructive.

Because “If I just do one more….”

Is never just one more.

Because we weren’t given the right gauges.
And maybe the wrong pit crew.

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Words: The Danger Of Overlooking Them
Words Describe. Wordload Defines

“It is not always possible to be the best, but it is always possible to improve. When you play with death…you don’t make mistakes twice.”

“The tongue has the power of life and death…”

The first, spoken by Nikki Lauda, three – time world champion with twenty five F1 wins and who stood on fifty four podiums.

The second by King Solomon.

We’re taught to drive.
Taught the limits and dangers we needed to know.

We were taught words.
Without being taught how fast…or far…they go.

We learned how to write without knowing  words were already writing us.

Not describing.

Defining.

Wordload is the unseen weight of accumulated internal and external language.
It formed scripts that wrote decisions, performance, relationships, and outcomes.

We’re the car.
Our brain is the engine.

Words are the fuel.
The oil.
The coolant.

If they’re not right, neither is the engine.

Performance…slowed.
Parked…in a garage.

Rehashing the past
Rehearsing the future.

Doomscrolling…searching for more words.

Instead of adding…or replacing.
Maybe the purpose should be fine tuning.

Not fixing everything.
Not seeking perfection.

Just precision.
Cars require it.

So do words.   

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Who’s On Your Crew?
Why We “Go,” When We Need to “Stop.”

Race day and we miss the most important factor.
The team behind the driver.
Sixty or more people.
Different jobs.
With purpose.

And it’s not winning.

One of the pillars of success, but not the primary.

Safety is.

If it’s unsafe, it stops.

Non-negotiable and everyone’s responsibility.
Sixty plus pairs of eyes looking for what could go wrong.
If one says stop.

Even if the other fifty-nine say “go…”

They stop.
Maybe that’s why we need to pay attention to who’s on our team.

Wordload is often built by people saying, “go…”
Often so much, our eyes miss the danger.

Then we start to repeat it to ourselves.
Even when it’s not precise.

Expectations.
Labels.
Past performance.

Fueling.

“I have to do…”
“I can’t say no…”
“If I only…”

Before we know it.
Wordload is built.

And someone else is driving our car.

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The Power From…A Pause
Elevate. Not Escalate.

Pitstops are planned.
Taking care of the car is mandatory.
Tweaks for performance.
Tires to grip the track.

Fuel to keep running.
Not just any kind…
Fuel to move at two hundred miles per hour.

Sometimes the same pace as our day, week, or season of life.

Like a car, we need to make the stop…
But don’t.

Vacation time unused.
Personal time not taken because of Wordload.

Fear of missing out.
Fear of falling behind.
Fear of what’s waiting when we get back.

When we do get back?
We’re often more exhausted than when we left.

So instead we replace rest with…

“I’m good…”

RE| is the recognition we need to slow down…
Before we can speed up

RE| is not only the cue…
But the permission to make a strategic pause.

Not to retire from the race.
Not to change cars.
Not to add “more” car.

But how we make the car better to win the race.

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Make The Call.
No One Drives Alone.

RE| is a real time edit.
An interruption before the next thing we say.
The next thing we do.

Instead of a reaction, the pause allows a response.
To elevate a person, a conversation, the room.

Instead of escalate.

RE| is the pause to prevent:

·       “What was I thinking?”

·       “Why did I do that…again?”

·       “That didn’t go the way I pictured it…”

Pitstops have purpose.
So does RE|

Interrupt the words and scripts running in the background we often don’t notice.
With a real time edit.

To do that?
We need clarity.

On the track, drivers feel when something is wrong.
When the car isn’t aligned.
When it’s not efficient.

They make a call over the radio.
No hesitation.

No shame.

Because they don’t make guesses with a $20 million machine.

Sometimes we need to make that call.
To a trusted friend.
A counselor.
A pastor.

To help us pause.
To help us in the pause.

Because we’re worth far more than any car.

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My name is G. Scott, and I write about the power…and burden of the words shaping people, organizations, and outcomes. I’ve served over thirty years in the corporate environment scaling operations and sales initiatives and teams regionally and nationally.

I have been blessed with my wonderful wife Alyson, three great kids and my first granddaughter.

The most important part of my work? You.  I hope you share your story!
If this has been tough, please reach out to a trusted friend, pastor, or counselor.