success

Take A Closer Look

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Last night after work my wife and I went to the national wildlife refuge by our house to look at the birds in the area.  (There is a nesting pair of bald eagles that has been cool to see!)  At first glance, when we pulled up to the big duck ponds, it appeared that they were full of the regular birds you see all the time.  After a closer look, that turned out not to be the case.

As we combed through the crowd of ducks with the binoculars, we started noticing out-of-the-ordinary birds we hadn’t seen before were also part of the mix.  We saw a Green Winged Teal, a Cinnamon Teal, and a Ringed Neck duck.  It was amazing to me how much variety there was hidden within the crowd.

That experience got me thinking that it’s probably a lot like that with how we see the world around us.  Do we see all the negative things happening, or are we on the lookout for the good being done.  Are we on focused on just what’s popular and mainstream, or are we looking at other forms of music, film, literature, people, food, and experiences? 

There’s a lot of different and interesting things in the world that can be easily missed, unless we slow down and take are time to have a closer look.

Follow Through On Intentions

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I was really impressed with something our pastor did in church last Sunday.  As I was reflecting on it later in the day I thought, “I should send him a hand-written note and tell him how much I appreciated what he did.”  That’s a good intention.  However, as the week got busier, I could feel my intention slipping to the back burner toward inaction.  If I didn’t do something, the likelihood that this intention would ever bloom into realized action, was not looking good.

So last night I just decided (and actually followed through) that I was not going to do anything else until I got the note written and put it in an addressed envelope with a stamp.  As I type this, the note is in the care of the USPS and on its way to the recipient. 

When we have a good intention, we should honor that intention by taking the necessary action to bring it to life.  Not only will be feel good about following through on our good intention, we’ll hopefully be blessing someone else as well.

Starting The Day Grateful

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I made a focused effort this year to be more consistent with my journaling, and it seems to be working!  I’ve been writing 6 days per week since the beginning of 2023!  All I needed to do was weave journaling into a part of my daily morning routine.  Who knew it was that simple?

One thing I’ve been doing to start my journaling is to write 3 things that I’m grateful for.  I’ve heard a lot of people suggest that, so I thought I’d give it a try.  It’s amazing after a few weeks how many things you have to be grateful for.  We all know that, but it’s different when you actually see them written down.

I’ve enjoyed recalling things I’m grateful for when I journal in the morning. Not only is it a good reminder of how much I have to be grateful for, it also points me in the right direction mentally every morning.  When I start my day with thoughts of gratitude, it feels like I’m setting my mind up to be grateful all day, which is right where I want to be. 

Looking For Excuses

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It’s so easy to find an excuse to get out of doing something you don’t want to do.  Have you ever thought of looking for excuses to do what you know you should be doing?  

For example, maybe you go to the gym every morning when you wake up.  However, on this particular morning, it’s dark, cold, and rainy out when you wake up.  The easy excuse to get out of going to the gym is, “It’s cold and wet outside, but it’s nice and warm in bed.  I’m going to skip the gym today and go tomorrow.” 

At this point, you could also look for an excuse to go to the gym, regardless of the weather.  Your excuse to do what you know you should do, might be, “It’s kind of crappy out, but I’m already awake, and I’ll feel good once I’m done.  There really isn’t a good reason not to go.”

Looking for excuses to follow through, instead of mailing it in, is  a way to reframe the discussions we often have with ourselves when we’re trying to take the easy route.  Often times we just need to give ourselves a little pep talk, or light a fire for ourselves.  And often, a good excuse is just what we need. 

Division

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Think, for a moment, of all the things that people can have differing opinions about.  The list is endless!  Topics range from volatile ones like pollical leaning and religion to more innocuous ones like music preference, being a morning or evening person, or your favorite flavor of ice cream. 

Now think of the people you know.  How many of them do you have the exact same opinions on every topic with?  Zero?  Yeah, me too.

With so many things to be divided over, it’s important that we are mindful of what we actually allow to drive wedges in our relationships.  Do we really want to shut someone down or vilify them over minor differences?  Do we really want our radars up looking for reasons to be divided, versus looking for what unites us?  Do we want others looking us with an eye toward division?

Leading with an eye toward division comes with a high price.  We miss out on opportunities to learn more about others.  In some cases, we drive wedges between those closest to over insignificant differences.  What a sad realization it would be to look back on such a life, and see all the division we’ve created, because all we were seeing were differences versus people.

Still Have Work To Do

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“The only way we can be of use to God is to let Him take us through the crooks and crannies of our own characters.  It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves!”

~Oswald Chambers; My Utmost for His Highest

I’m going to talk about God, so if that’s not for you, I’ll see you next week!  😊

As I read this on January 12, 2023 this year, I was reminded that I need to continually let God point out the elements of my character that needs work.  For me, this will be a life-long pursuit.

It’s foolish to think that my character is as good as it can be, and therefore, needs no more of my attention.  That kind of mindset would cause me to miss opportunities for God to show me where I could grow my character, because I want to be more like the person He wants me to be.

Are there crooks and crannies of your character that you need to let God into?  If so, invite Him in, and be receptive to the changes He wants to make in you.

Changing For A Change

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Journaling is something that I really enjoy doing.  I like its reflective aspects, as well as how it causes me to look forward with an eager anticipation of the good things to come.  I just feel like I do life better when I’m journaling versus when I’m not.

The problem I have, is that I’m incredibly inconsistent in my journal writing.

I’ve decided that I need to greatly increase the frequency of my journal writing this year.  As such, I’ve changed a couple of things that I expect will cause my journal writing frequency to increase, not just this year, but for many years to come.

For starters, I’ve been waking up 15 minutes earlier.  (I know, “What a novel idea!”)  I’ve also, integrated journaling as part of my morning routine, right between reading the Bible and eating my morning oatmeal.  My morning routine is solidly established, so by getting up a little earlier, and adding journaling between 2 regular activities, I stand a very high chance of making journaling an established part of the routine as well.

I’ve also made a couple other changes that are more conducive to journaling, like where I sit when I read the Bible, and keeping my journal in that location.  That way, it’s already there when I show up to read.

This year, I determined that I needed to make a change (or two) in order to make journaling a regular habit.  The problem I’ve had in the past is that I’ve always wanted to journal more, but I didn’t change anything significant to cause that to happen.  So far, I’m off to a good start!

Are there any changes you need to make for a change?

Becoming

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As the end of the year rolls around, many of us start thinking about goals for the upcoming year.  While I believe goas are important (and I like having goals) my greater focus is on what kind of person I want to become in the years ahead.

As someone who plays electric bass, I want to become a musician who has a strong grasp of bass playing fundamentals and music theory, and can easily apply them to songs I play.  If this is what I want to become, then there are certain behaviors I need to engage in to cause me to become this type of musician.   

For example, I need to:

  • Constantly practice the bass playing fundamentals
  • Study music theory
  • Listen to other bass players and analyze what they’re doing in their playing
  • Attend concerts to expose myself to other bass playing styles
  • Apply what I’m learning to my own playing

As a follower of Jesus, I want to become a person whose life reflects what it looks like to be a true follower of Jesus.  In order to become this type of person, I’ll need to:

  • Read my Bible on a daily basis to I can be familiar with Jesus’s teaching
  • Put into practice what I learn
  • Make prayer a significant event throughout every day
  • Spend time in quiet self-reflection  
  • Be attentive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in my life, and respond accordingly.

For me, the focus on “becoming” is directed toward ensuring my behaviors each day are consistent with what it is I want to become.  It’s a great barometer for making sure I’m spending my days wisely, and that they’ll take me where I want to go.

So, what kind of person do you want to become?  Now the important question:  what do you need to do today to become that person?

Thinking With Others  

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 “None of us is as smart as all of us.”  ~Ken Blanchard

I’m working on a data visualization project at work with another person who also has a background in data.  After I first meeting, I knew I was going to like working with this person.

For starters, they had ideas about what they wanted to see in the visualization, and the questions they were hoping the visualization would answer.  What really impressed me about this person was that they were also willing to have their ideas built upon.

They’d throw and idea out, then I’d come back with and idea to build the idea they had proposed, and vice versa.  The end result of this “idea tennis match” was that we came up with some great visuals that will be useful for the folks in our organization that will ultimately consume this data.  In addition, it was fun to challenge each other with new thoughts.

I think it’s important to keep Ken Blanchard’s quote in mind, as well as keeping ourselves open to having our ideas stretched by other people.  Doing so exposes our ideas to the potential of becoming great ideas.

Bridging Gaps

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When my wife and I both started working from home a couple of years ago, we thought it would be fun once in a while, to take a quick break during the workday and run down to the local coffee shop to pick up a drink together.   We finally did that last Thursday.  It was a quick fun trip, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why it took us so long to finally make it happen.

The gap between intention and reality is interesting to me, because the easiest way I’ve found to bridge a gap like that is to just take action and cause something to happen.  This can range from simply saying to your spouse, “Hey, do you want to run down to the coffee shop and get a drink”.  For larger intentions, it may be taking the first step of many, to put yourself on course to bridge whatever gap you face.  The important thing seems to be to just take action.

Be on the lookout for areas in your life, whether big or small, where you’re facing a gap between what you’d like and what’s actually happening.  When you notice a gap, consider what action you could take to help you bridge that gap. 

Then, take that step.