daily effort

Get Beyond Irritated

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ARRRGH!!  Have you ever been so irritated that you just wanted to yell or scream?  (I hope I’m not the only one who’s ever felt like this!)  There are several things that can drive us to become irritated.  It could be a recurring behavior we keep engaging in.  Maybe we’re irritated by a bureaucratic process or organization that seems incapable of providing reasonable value.  Irritations also come from those we regularly interact with or it could even come from within ourselves due to a gap between our expectations and current reality.

It feels safe to say that at some point we’ve all been irritated.  So what should we do when this occurs?  Do we just brush it off and move on?  What’s the proper response to irritations we encounter?  I like the thought I heard on a recent podcast that suggests we get “beyond irritated”.  So what does that mean?

When we find ourselves irritated we have a few choices.  We can remain irritated, or we can use the irritation as a catalyst to spark an action that leads to a positive change or outcome.  This is the essence of getting beyond irritated.

When irritation strikes I’ve found it rather easy just to remain parked in an irritated state.  This seems to be the default reaction for most folks, as it requires zero effort or thought.  We just naturally seem to go there.  However, as noted above, we have a better choice.

This is where we get beyond just being irritated.  No, we’re not taking about taking our irritation to the next level, where we allow ourselves to go completely berserk.  That would be counterproductive.  Getting beyond irritated is a different way of thinking.  It’s using an irritation to spark action to improve the situation, to cause something to happen.  Think of irritation as the event that strikes the match of positive activity.

Looking back, I realize I’ve used this concept, in a small way, in my own life recently.  I use to get to the end of my workday and leave in a hurry in order to catch the bus on time.  It always felt like I was rushing out and leaving things undone, only to be dealt with the next morning.  I would arrive the next day to a messy desk and loose ends from the day before, irritated that I had, yet again, set myself up to have a chaotic morning.  Not only was it irritating, it was not how I wanted to begin each day.  A few months ago I decided to start blocking out the last 10 minutes of my day to assess what I was working on and schedule my tasks for the following day.  That way, I’d arrive the next morning to an orderly desk with a plan for the day ahead.  So far this plan has been working extremely well.  Since its implementation, I have not been irritated by a chaotic workspace.  That irritation has been removed.

What things constantly irritate you?  Is it being out of shape, stuck in an unfulfilling job, poor relationships with those closest to you?  Be mindful when you become irritated.  When you do, very quickly ask yourself, “What action can I take to get beyond this irritation?” and then take that action.

Never waste an irritation by failing to follow it up with a positive action.  If not, you could be leaving a potentially life changing opportunity on the table.

Give a Damn

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Give a Damn

“Whatever!”  Have you heard this phrase recently?  Have you said it in a conversation, or used it as a quick retort?  It can be fun to throw out when joking around with friends.  It can also be used to instantly communicate that your interest in the topic of discussion has been exhausted and you’re ready to move on.  However it’s used, the message it conveys is clear:  “I don’t give a damn.”

It’s become trendy not to care and to be cynical and apathetic as opposed to giving thought to a topic or perspective and actually caring.  Perhaps it’s easier to do so because people are busy or are mentally engaged elsewhere.

I was recently listening to another Entrepreneur on Fire podcast and was struck when the guest gave his favorite success quote.  It was simply, “Give a Damn”.  Something about this quoted really resonated with me.  It reminds me to actually care about the things I’m pursuing, the people I’m with, the effort I give, and the person I’m becoming.  This phrase reminds me to be engaged and committed to what I devote my efforts to.

There’s another thing I love about that quote.  No matter what I’m doing, I can add “Do I…” to the front of it and regularly ask myself, “Do I give a damn?”  That’s a powerful question!  No matter what I’m doing or what I’m engaged with, I can stop and ask this question of myself.   If my response to that question is “Yes” and my effort or engagement is sub-par, then I clearly need to step my game up and engage at a higher level.  If I answer, “Yes” and I am fully engaged, that confirms I’m right on track.

What if the answer to this question is, “No”?  Then what?  It seems like the next logical question might be, “Why don’t I give a damn?”  This question warrants an honest answer beyond simply, “because” or “I don’t know”.  It may be that a bad attitude is to blame.  That’s easy to correct, because we have complete control over that.  What if the attitude is good and the answer to the question of whether we give a damn is still, “No”?  This could be a strong indicator that we’re pursuing something that doesn’t align with our passions, strength, or values.  It could also mean the people we’re with, or activities we’re engaging in are not fulfilling or causing us to grow and be stretched.

Let’s be mindful of what we’re spending our time and effort doing.  Yes, there are some things in life that we need to do, which we may not care about.  However, the point here is not to voluntarily waste significant portions of our lives on things we don’t give a damn about.

Make sure that you give a damn in your efforts to cause something to happen.  Greatness never came from someone who didn’t care.

Cause Something to Happen… For Others

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I’m currently co-leading Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) course at church with my friend Steve.  This is the second FPU course we’ve taught together.  I am a huge fan of Dave Ramsey and solid personal finance principles and am passionate about sharing them with others.

There are 2 things I really love about teaching this course.  The first is the openness and transparency that develops within each class.  I’m always amazed at how willing people are to open up and share what’s really going on in their lives when given a safe environment with caring, supportive people.  The second, is listening to people tell me about the progress they have made, or are making, with their finances and in their marriages as a result of the courses Steve and I have taught.  Every time I hear one of these stories I’m so honored that I’ve had the opportunity to play a small role in adding value to their lives.

Throughout this blog, I’ve talked about causing something to happen that will move us toward our goals and the “ideal life” we desire for ourselves.  I truly believe we have the power to direct and change our lives if we continuously take the initiative to cause something to happen.

As I was thinking about the people in the current FPU class that Steve and I are teaching, and the successes they’ve been sharing with us, I thought about my favorite quote, “Cause something to happen”.  I was thinking how that quote is not only relevant for our own lives, but it’s also relevant for the lives of the people around us.  As we’re causing something to happen for ourselves, we should be mindful of opportunities to do so for others as well.

Steve was the one that caused the latest FPU class to happen at our church.  Through his action, he gave people in church the opportunity to sign up for the course and learn personal finance principles that can change their life.  Steve’s initiative created opportunity for others.  Whether he knew it or not, Steve caused something to happen that is benefiting everyone in the class.  Way to go, Steve!

I want to follow Steve’s example by causing something to happen for others.  How much more satisfying would life be, knowing that as we’ve not only caused something to happen in our own lives, but we’ve also sparked opportunity for others to do the same?

Where can you cause something to happen in someone else’s life, today?

We Get to Choose

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Some things are so small that we don’t even recognize them in our daily lives.  Take the untold number of cells that make up our physical being.  So tiny, yet they have a huge impact on our very existence.  The time it takes to blink our eyes is also tiny, yet each blink is necessary for our eyes to function properly.

Another thing that is tiny is the amount of time between a stimulus and a response.  Think about how many times each day we are presented with a stimulus that we then respond to.  In most cases, the time between the stimulus and our response is extremely small.  Sometimes it feels instantaneous, but no matter how small this time is, it is always present.  For example, you hit your thumb with a hammer (stimulus) and then scream out in pain (response).  The response happens almost instantly, however, there is still a measure of time between these 2 events.

Here’s the part that I think is empowering:  in that sliver of time between stimulus and response we get to choose how we respond.  We can’t always control the stimulus, but we can control our response.

Take the scenario of being cut off in traffic.  When this occurs, we have a choice of how to respond.  We can lay on the horn, blurt out some expletive, or offer any number of obscene hand gestures.  Sometimes these responses feel automatic, but we always have a choice.  Instead, we could choose not to become angry and lash out, or we could also choose not to get worked up by it and overlook it all together.  We can choose a better response.

This is one of a number of scenarios we face daily where we can choose to respond in a positive manner instead of defaulting to a negative response.  We can choose to be offended by an inconsiderate comment, or we can choose to overlook it.  We can choose to respond harshly to a spouse or loved one, or we can choose to extend grace, compassion, and understanding.

Be mindful of these moments where we can decide how to respond to a stimulus.  Use them as opportunities to cause something to happen that is positive, instead of automatically responding negatively and see if it doesn’t begin to have a positive effect on your outlook and attitude.

Death, Taxes, and Compounding

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It is, indeed, a powerful force!  In the previous blog, we talked about the magic and the power of compounding and saw how compounding can have a significant positive effect in our lives.  Compounding is a great thing, right?  Well, it depends.

The principal of compounding will occur in our lives when we choose to apply it to something positive.  Here’s the alarming aspect about compounding that we may not be aware of:  compounding will occur in our lives whether we actively peruse it or not.  The choice we are responsible for is whether we will shape and direct the compounding in our lives, or whether we’ll allow negative compounding to occur, yielding results we may not want or desire.

Last post we talked about the compounding that occurs from lifting weight on a consistent basis day after day, for several years.  Let’s take an opposite scenario.  Say a person isn’t pursuing a healthy lifestyle.  Suppose they eat their favorite fast foods for lunch every day, and drink large quantities of unhealthy, high sugar or high calorie beverages.  Let’s also imagine that at the end of every day our “compounding unaware” example plops down in front of the TV for several hours until they drift off to sleep.  What effect will this have on a person after 1 day?  I’d say very little to none.  What happens when we add compounding into the equation?  What happens when our example strings several weeks of this consistent behavior together?  Let’s carry the equation out even further and say this behavior continues consistently for 5 to 10 years.  My guess is that these results are far different from the person who started lifting the 10lb weight 5 to 10 years ago.

Here’s the truth about compounding that is so important to grasp:  compounding will occur in our lives whether we actively choose to harness its power or not.  Our consistent actions, whether positive or negative, will yield significant results in our lives.  It doesn’t matter if we’re aware of the principal or not.  Compounding will occur regardless.

This principal gives us tremendous opportunity, but I also think it comes with tremendous responsibility.  Knowing that compounding will occur, we should cause something to happen that will allow compounding’s power to move us in a positive direction, toward the goals and dreams we have to change our lives for the better.  Why waste this principal’s precious power on results that don’t enhance our lives?

If you’re interested in learning more about compounding and how it can be applied in your own life, I highly recommend Darren Hardy’s excellent book, “The Compound Effect”.  Check it out and learn more about this under-utilized principle and begin applying its power in your life.  It will motivate you to stay consistent and encourage you to be committed to positive compounding for the long haul.

The Magic of Compounding — It’s Not Just for Dollars!

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How in the world does lifting a 10lb weight turn a person into a body builder?  Likewise, how does one shovel full of dirt turn a city block into a massive sky scraper?  The truth is… it doesn’t.  Picking up and lifting a 10lb weight will no more turn a person into a body builder than will one scoop of earth struck by a shovel create a skyscraper.  Each of these single acts is too insignificant to yield impressive results.

However, suppose a person were to lift that same 10lb weight several times a day, day after day for a month.  It would soon become too light as the weightlifter grew stronger from continually lifting the 10lb weight.  They would soon need to begin lifting 15, or 20lbs several times a day, day after day, until this weight also became too light. Now suppose our weight lifter repeated this process day after day, month after month and year after year.  What would the result be after 1, 5, or 10 years? They would be far stronger, and more muscular, than they were when they first started lifting the 10lb weight.

Here’s the question:  Which day of weight lifting was the one that made them strong and improved their physique?  What is the very first day they began lifting the 10lb weight? Was it their most recent day in the gym?  The obvious answer is:  it was every day!   Every seemingly insignificant day spent lifting weights.  Every day of not seeing results, yet pushing forward (or up in the case of weightlifting).  Every day’s commitment to staying focused on the goal and giving consistent effort.

By themselves, each day’s effort doesn’t amount to much.  But when coupled with the effort of the days before, and the days that follow, they collectively become a powerful force.  This force, this magic, is called compounding.

We often hear of compounding in the context of investing or saving money.  We’re told to put a little money away each month and over the years the “magic of compounding will cause the amount to grow to an incredibly large sum.   It’s no different with our effort in other life endeavors.  If you want  something different in your life, cause something to happen daily to move you closer to your desired outcome.  It doesn’t have to be an extraordinary effort.  All we need is small, incremental progress done on a daily basis over an extended period of time.

This is an incredibly encouraging concept to me.  It reminds me that regardless of my endeavor, I don’t need to have all the answers before I can get started.  I don’t need to have my plan all filled out and perfect first.  I just need to take the next step today and each subsequent day.  These small steps will carry me toward my goal.  I just need to provide consistent effort over an extended period.  The magic of compounding will take care of the rest.

Share your comments:  Have you had an experience with the power of compounding?  Were in your life do you need to provide the seeds of consistency to all allow compounding to take root?

Let the power of compounding encourage you to cause something to happen… starting today!