A Cure for the “Take-Life-Too-Serious” Leader

“Laughter is the closest distance between two people.” -Victor Borge

I take my life too seriously at times. I often get so focused on bettering myself and my ministry that I sometimes lose focus on some of the things that are just as important in life.

Because of that, I find that I’m not having as much fun in life as I could. There’s a simple cure for that: laugh more.

Just the other night, my wife and I had a relaxing evening with good friends while my two-year-old daughter was sleeping at home with my Dad watching over her. We had some great conversations!

I smiled a lot, laughed a lot, ate some good brownies, and heard fun stories about the lives of my friends. It was awesome! And I thought to myself two things:

I’m having so much fun!
I need to do this more often.

I was so relaxed. I had nothing to worry about at that moment. I wasn’t thinking about the next day and all the tasks I had to get done. I wasn’t worried about going to bed late. I wasn’t trying to improve myself or my ministry. I wasn’t reflecting on my life.

I was totally present to my friends.

It was a short night as people had to get home, but a night that I want to repeat over and over again.

My goal is this: I need to create more moments in life where I can experience this type of laughter and relaxation with the people that matter to me most.

Question: When was the last time you experienced a night of relaxation and laughter with friends and family?

John Rinaldo

As the Business Manager at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Morgan Hill, CA, Dr. John Rinaldo serves as the administrator over operations and finances for the parish in support of all parish ministries. Previously, John served as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of San Jose, empowering parish communities to minister to the needs of youth and young adults. John is also an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University teaching pastoral ministry courses to graduate students.

2 Comments

Nathan on February 14, 2013 at 9:46 am

I still get together with two of my good friends who I worked with in my secular job I left 2 years ago to get into ministry. These two friends are both husbands and fathers, so we relate very well with each other. I love meeting them for lunch to talk about trivial things like sports, catching up on what’s happening at the old company, and hearing funny stories about their families. They’ll bring up my ministry and always make me feel good for doing what I’m doing. It’s always a great time when we get together.

John Rinaldo on February 15, 2013 at 11:02 am

Hey Nathan, I really need to do the same thing with a group of friends. Thanks for the motivation to make something like that happen!
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