Why does the pause feel harder than pressure?

In this episode of Summit After the Storm, Bart Wilbanks explores why leaders struggle to sit with stillness — even when they know rushing forward isn’t wise.

Following earlier conversations about forced shutdowns and what stillness exposes, this episode focuses on resistance:
the internal tension leaders feel when momentum stops, control fades, and action is no longer available as a coping mechanism.

This episode examines why high performers often equate movement with progress, why silence feels threatening to leaders, and how identity can become tied to productivity, urgency, and control.

Drawing from lived experience on Mount Kilimanjaro, this reflection looks at moments when nothing dramatic is happening — no crisis, no emergency — just the temptation to force progress instead of exercising restraint.

Anchored in Psalm 62:1 (“Truly my soul finds rest in God”), this episode reframes rest not as inactivity, but as leadership maturity — the ability to remain grounded when urgency drains away and clarity hasn’t fully arrived yet.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:
• Why leaders resist the pause
• Stillness vs inactivity in leadership
• Control, responsibility, and identity
• The urge to force progress
• Leadership restraint and emotional discipline
• Growth during waiting seasons, uncertainty, and transition

This episode is for leaders navigating:
stillness, burnout, uncertainty, loss of control, forced pauses, leadership anxiety, transitions, pressure, faith and leadership, personal growth, and seasons where timing matters more than speed.

🎙 Summit After the Storm explores leadership lessons forged under pressure — from mountains and storms to business, faith, and everyday life.

👉 Follow the podcast on Spotify for weekly conversations on leadership, resilience, faith, clarity, and growth under pressure and learn more at summitafterstorm.com.