How Do You Recharge?

George Hiles

“What do you do to recharge?” a friend asked me at a minor league baseball game last week.  “Is it conversation? Or reading? Observation? Being alone?”

“It usually starts with being alone where I can observe,” I said. “Road trips by myself are probably best. If I can’t do that, then sitting in silence is helpful. So are reading and certain television programs. But not conversation.”

It’s not that I don’t enjoy conversation — especially with people I know and trust. In fact, I often crave it. But it doesn’t help me recharge. It takes a toll, zapping my energy. And afterward, my mind races, wondering if I said everything I needed to say. 

That probably makes me a classic introvert. I used to feel guilty about pulling away, knowing it probably makes me appear to be anti-social. But at my age, I have stopped apologizing. 

Everybody recharges differently. You have to know what works for you, then follow through. But given that even Jesus needed to pull away from crowds on multiple occasions, I have a hard time believing the rest of us don’t require the same thing — at least every once in a while.