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Note to Self: Remembering What’s Important

don't forgetI leave a paper trail wherever I go.

Sticky notes, notebooks, Evernote….I have to capture ideas, tasks, and all other vital information down as fast as I can or it flies out of my brain.

And I think the biggest reminder we need is about our worth.

Many of us go through life feeling less than important.

The mirror, our bank account, and the naysayers point out the flaws.

Negative things stack up a lot faster than positive things–if we allow it.

There are so many things that are supposed to lead to happiness and joy and a “fulfilled” life. If you buy into the lies out there, you’ll walk around confused about your worth.  

That’s what I want us to explore together over the next few days.

So, here’s a question for you:

What dictates the worth and purpose of your life?  

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Navigating Construction Zones

  Construction zones are everywhere. I drive through two to three each day. The world around me is exploding with new buildings and improved roads. When I think about redeveloping an impoverished area or new businesses starting up, I get excited. 

My favorite kind of progress , though, is when people change for the better. 

The terrain of pain, shame, and hopelessness transforming into a landscape of beauty and joy right before my eyes. 

And we are all progressing in one direction or the other. No one lives in a neutral state. 

We all have construction zones. 

Like I said earlier, construction isn’t bad, but it can be tricky to navigate at times. Traffic jams will happen when heavy machinery is in use. 

Keeping people at a distance until construction is over is not a good idea. 

Getting frustrated at the construction zone surrounding a friend’s life is pointless. 

What’s the answer then?

  • Keep your eyes on the everyday progress.
  •  See the improvements and additions as victories. 
  • View difficulty as the temporary setback that it really is. 

Our lives will always have some kind of construction zones in them. 

Demolition projects, remodeling, additions, or touch ups. The level of construction depends on the person. 

Learn to navigate the changes gracefully. This is one skill we all need to master–for the sake of others and for the sake of our own sanity. 

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Your Goals Need Feet, Part 2

  We talked yesterday about your goals needing feet. I thought we’d spend today looking more at what that means. 

A lot of people are planners. They will create detailed lists of work that needs to be done. Each of their goals have nifty pie charts and deadlines on the calendar. 

Some people are dreamers, idea people. They can help everyone else figure out what to do, but they can’t seem to get their own act together. 

And then there are doers. 

Doers are people with a dream, a plan, and….feet. They get moving toward the life they desire. They are consistent, disciplined, and focused. 

Maybe you have a dream and a plan that maps out the next 20 years of your life.

 But what are you doing?

Committing to blog every day for a year is a big step for me. I’m not sure where this path will lead. I’ve never made this kind of commitment before and stuck with it. 

But here I am. Daring to dream big and work hard for something I want. 

What is the next step you need to take?

 Let’s go on this adventure together. I’ll be walking right along side you, but only you can move your feet. 

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Your Goals Need Feet

  I got this jewelry box for Christmas. It’s been hanging up on my wall since then and I still haven’t added any pictures. 

While I was drying my hair this morning, it occurred to me that many of us need to add some pictures to our lives. 

The fake families and individuals in picture frames represent daily living. These pictures are merely fillers. 

You are supposed to go out into the world and make picture worthy memories of your own. But many of us don’t. 
The idea that it’s possible to live vicariously through others needs to die.

 You can’t leave fake pictures in your picture frames and think it’s the real deal. 

Go out into the world and do something.

 Make some memories with friends and family. Volunteer your time instead of just writing a check. 

I am calling 2015 the “Year of Doing” for a reason. I was sick of dreaming and wishing for things to happen. At 24 years old, my regrets were starting to pile up high. 

 I determined to put some feet on my goals. 

Now on to my next task: putting pictures in the frames…


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The Power of a Meal

  Today was a family day. Our whole family was together for a birthday bash in honor of my Nana. 

Of course, food was a big part of the celebration. 

The table was spread with yummy food and all the trimmings. 

It’s fun to sit around the table and chat about all the important things going on in our lives. 

What I find most amazing is how valuing each other’s differences only adds to the unity of a family. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. 

Putting all the giftings together enables the family to have a greater impact in the world. 

A great place to take notice of these things is around the dinner table. 

Food is–and always will be–the most powerful ally in the quest for unity. 

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The Worst Millennial Ever

millennials

The title of this post says it all. I am the worst millennial ever.

Hashtags, Twitter, Snapchat, and don’t even get me started on LinkedIn.

Sigh.

Can someone please explain all of these social media tools to me?

Instagram is simple enough for anyone to use. Take a picture, add a caption, and BAM! The world can see how awesome your filtered life really is.

Facebook? It’s the grandpa of all social media. I mean, it beat Myspace and took over as the Yo-Mama! of all social media. Zuckerberg’s empire is not going anywhere–even though the movie that explains it all is probably the worst….

Moving on…..

Why am I talking about this? Because I have a goal for this blog now. It’s quite simple.

Blog every day of my 25th year.

Sometimes the posts will be super serious.

Sometimes I will post a book review.

Sometimes  I will post a YouTube video with some commentary (it is a blog after all).

I don’t want to limit myself in what I choose to do. The only goal is to post something every day.

Which takes me back to being the worst millennial ever……

I need your help to improve my mad skills because right now I have none.

That’s another goal of mine for this upcoming year:

Figure out the complex world of the blogosphere and social media.

Any and all help is much appreciated.

For those of you know my birthday is in July, you might be wondering why I’m posting this now.

Thanks for asking!

It will take me that long to get into the habit.

Consistency is my kryptonite.

Now, to end the most random blog post ever…..

 

 

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The Ultimate Tragedy

I had the opportunity to pre-screen The Song. It was such a great movie! 

Imagine a love story by Nicholas Cage–minus the death–and the life of King Solomon modernized. The movie was real, messy even, and yet moving.

Here’s what I took away:

For years, I wondered what would’ve made me enough for my parents to stay. My dad was not in the picture. My mom chose men and addictions over her children. These memories have left a deep impression.

I daily have to stop myself from going back to those times, to adding disappointment to everything now. This calculated disappointment is crippling. Imagine going from color to black and white. The fuzzy, hazy hue distorts any goodness.

The same thing happened to Jed (the main character of The Song). His life fluctuated between seasons of hardship and overwhelming goodness. All along, he couldn’t see the beauty of his marriage to Rose or the joy in his son’s eyes. Even when his dreams came true it was never enough.

I don’t want to wake up one day and realize that I’ve missed it.

How sad would that be?

The goodness and bounty of God’s love squandered because of past hurts. Never letting myself heal and experience God’s best for my life.

That’s the ultimate tragedy.

Worse than a bad childhood. Worse than a dead end career. Worse than never having a family of your own.

All of those things pale in comparison to not recognizing the goodness around you.  

I’m tired of missing it.

I’m ready to let the winds of change, the breath of God Himself, carry me farther than I ever dreamed.

Question: What’s holding you back from experiencing God’s best for you?

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Customer Service Matters

Do you remember your first job? I do. My first “real” job was as a college recruiter.

The dreams that I had of reaching out to college students, seeing them choose my college…I was so excited. Never mind that I came into the job toward the end of the recruiting season. My numbers were going to be awesome!

I remember the first student that I recruited. The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming. I gave that student and her family the royal treatment. No request was too big or small.

The same thrill comes to me anytime I sell a product online or at my booth. “They chose me!” I think, “What can I do to help them further?”

A satisfied customer is akin to a drug high for me. Presenting a product. Closing a deal. What could be better?

I never want to lose this excitement.

Going back to my time as a college recruiter, I realize that I wasn’t the best. My colleagues were way ahead of me in their numbers. But I know that the students I recruited received the best of my time and effort.

Many businesses are too focused on the end goal: meeting their quota. Customers become another tick mark instead of being treated as an invaluable asset. Lots of my business colleagues are on straight commission. They’re often much better at grasping the importance of people to their success.

Comfy, unseasoned “professionals” are the only ones silly enough to ignore the value of great customer service. Maybe a few months of bologna sandwiches and Vienna sausages will wake them up.

The entire economy is in the people business. Clever sales techniques and fancy websites will only take you so far.

A high level of customer service–a great respect for other people–is key.

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Recalibrating Your Goals

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything. Sorry for falling off the face of the planet. I wish there was some stellar excuse that would sound better than “life happened” but I have nothing…

Along these lines, we’re halfway through 2014. Do you know what that means? Progress report time!

Are you reaching the goals that you set for yourself?

Here’s a simple way to measure progress:

Write out your goals. On a scale of 1 to 10, with one being the farthest from goal completion, how close are you to reaching those goals?

If you’re like me, you probably have several in the -1 category. That’s where my blogging goal has been until today. I’m now back at 0 because of this post. However, in other areas, I’m in the 7-8 range.

That’s the cool thing about goals. You can celebrate big victories and mourn small failures. Either way, at least you’re doing something.

This is not a natural thought progression for me. In fact, my stepmom is a major source of encouragement in this area. She reviews her goals every 6 months or so. That helps her not go insane when a bad day creeps up.

Because the bad days will come.

You won’t work on something or your schedule will change at the last minute or a deadline will be missed. And a goal gets left behind in the dust.

It’s time to dust off your goals.

There’s still time! A simple shift in how you gauge progress can breathe new life into any project or goal. Let’s look past the day-to-day and start thinking more long term.

We have five months left in 2014. I wonder how much we can accomplish together in that time.

Question: What’s your #1 goal for this year?

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Thankful for Snow

It snowed!

And there’s still piles of it on the ground.

This is a new experience for a small town Southern girl.

Life has continued as usual. School is still in session and businesses are still open. I’ve seen the snowplow riding through our neighborhood every day. Winter is officially here. I cannot leave my house without a heavy winter coat and gloves.

The other day, I shovelled snow for the first time in my life!

It’s a lot harder than it looks in the movies. My dad told me that shovelling snow is the leading cause of heart attacks for older people in the North. I can believe it. That was a hard job.

Hopefully, you’re not too bored with this conversation. I’m just so excited about the possibility of a white Christmas. That will be a first for me. And maybe a last. Who knows? I won’t live in this region forever.

If I’ve learned anything while living in the Pacific Northwest, it’s been that life is something to be enjoyed, treasured even.

Every day is such a gift and somewhere along the way I had forgotten. I needed to be reminded.

If I can’t get excited about the weather—hot or cold—how can I appreciate my family, my job, or my hobbies? It’s likely that I won’t recognize those blessings if I can’t get excited about the little things.

A picture from my sister, a penny on the sidewalk, a compliment from a friend…these are the small things that can potentially produce thankful thoughts.

A grateful attitude, I’m convinced, is more important than a college degree, job status, or the clothes you wear.

Those who are content have more opportunities and lead more fulfilling lives.

The power of contentment requires no complex formulas to understand. It only requires a choice.

Will I be thankful or will I be unthankful for the blessings around me?