Actions Define You
If you had called me a runner just three years ago I would have called you a liar. I didn’t run. I didn’t jog. I didn’t even want to think about running. But then one day, something was different. I bought the shoes and started. And I kept at it. So much so that one of the questions people will ask me on Sunday morning now is, “How far did you run yesterday?” They know because I run every week. It’s an expectation because it’s who I have become. My consistent, frequent actions have defined me in a new way.
Jeff Goins made the comment recently that “writers write.” That goes for just about any label. Runners run. Musicians make music. Readers read. Speakers speak. Parents parent. Friends befriend.
The definition of me as a runner stands in stark contrast to my self-applied label of “writer”. I could even throw in “friend.” These labels mock me because in my heart I know actions define. I don’t write. I scribble from time to time. But I don’t put in the metaphorical effort of pounding the pavement mile after mile in the cold, the wind, and the rain. I label myself as a friend but I don’t put out much effort to invest in the lives of my friends. Read more
How I Spent My Sunday Morning
I spent this past Sunday morning running the inaugural Louisiana Marathon. Close to two thousand marathoners and half-marathoners lined up at the start line on Sunday morning. It was cold but not unbearable. The sun was just beginning to make its way above the trees surrounding the state capitol as we got ready to begin.
I met a guy who had recently been transferred from Okinawa to San Antonio. He was hoping to finish in under five hours but really just wanted to finish. He hadn’t been able to train in over a month. I thought I might keep pace with him but after the race started, I lost sight of him.
At 7am sharp the starter’s pistol went off and we were underway. As with any large race, the group surges forward and then everyone realizes there is no where to go unto the people ahead get moving. There was a pacesetter for a five hour run which is 11:27/mile. On some of my long runs I had been averaging between 11:10 to 11:40. I set that as an unofficial goal but decided I would start out slow and make a decision at mile 20 on whether to go for a sub-five hour time. Read more
The Difference Between Occupation & Vocation
Our occupation is how we make a living… Our vocation, on the other hand, is what we’re inherently wired for. It’s less likely to consist of a set of tasks and more likely to consist of a set of themes. – The Accidental Creative p. 210
I stand on a plateau. It’s a similar place I have found myself before. After a few years at a job, I became restless and want to move on. Most times, the culture of the organization has changed and my job transforms into a sit and wait job. Sit and wait for something to break. There are days when I feel like I need to suck it up and push through because no job is perfect.
I have pondered on this for several weeks now and I realize I’m frustrated because I’m not fulfilling my vocation. I’m trying to make the tasks I complete be the end all of my vocational fulfillment. I’m not doing the hard work of seeking out the things I am passionate about and bring me joy.
Many of us spend a lot of time thinking about how to pay the bills but little time thinking about who we really are and how to bring our full passion to what we do. We haven’t learned to discern the difference between our occupation and our vocation. As long as we keep trying to find fulfillment in the tasks we complete in our occupation, we will be frustrated.
My mind keeps coming back to the life of Paul. Paul’s occupation was tent making. His vocation was reasoning with Jew and Gentile alike that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. His tent making allowed him to make money to support his vocation. I would venture a guess he never questioned whether his tent making made him happy. I’m sure he was a great tent maker and did his best in all his endeavors. However, his occupation did not define him. His vocation defined him and propelled him. He was a minister of the Gospel to the Gentiles and that kept him going even in spite of persecution and imprisonment.
I enjoy solving problems. I like helping people. I like leading a small group and seeing people grow in their faith. I like teaching and seeing the light bulb go off.
So as this year starts out, I need to do the hard work of understanding what my vocation is and not worry so much about the occupation.
How do you find the balance between your occupation and vocation?
Memories of my Dad
Sixty-nine years ago today, my father was born and it’s been just over 20 years since he died. After recent conversations and events, I have been reminiscing and sharing different memories about him. Listed below are some of the stories I’ve been told, memories I have, and things I learned from him.
- He was a mechanical engineer and wore a pocket protector to work everyday. He always had a mechanical pencil and a felt tip pen with him. My brother and I probably destroyed quite a few of his pens over the years. A few years ago, I saw a fellow student with the same pen and I practically snatched it from their hand. It took me back to my childhood and reconnected me in a small way to my dad.
- My mother tells the story that when he showed up for their second date, he was wearing overalls. That was also the first time he met her mother. He was not a redneck, he just did his own thing. When he got married, he had 30+ dress shirts. That way he only had to do laundry once a month. Read more
Creating Is a Marathon
Courtesy of Charlie Llewellin
Thinking back on the last few months a familiar pattern emerges with regards to my writing. I have fallen back into a sprint mentality. I start with a burst of creative output but after a few weeks I am sputtering. The Accidental Creative site raised the question, what is our creative superpower and our creative kryptonite. My kryptonite is consistency. After the burst, I allow distractions to take center stage and my output flags. After much processing, I realize that creating is a marathon.
When Life Feels Like a Metaphor
I went hiking the other day. As I walked along, there were noticeable changes in the trail and my surroundings. It felt like I was walking through a metaphor.
The first path was the narrow path. At some points, the path was nothing more than an animal track. The most recent creature had been a deer sometime since the last rain. At other times, the trail became obscure and there were “paths” going in multiple directions. I had to stop and survey my surroundings and then make a choice. Several times after choosing a “path” I made the mental note that I would reevalutate my choice after walking for a few minutes.
What do we do to fix it?
I became the co-editor of my school’s yearbook when I was a sophomore. At the end of the school year, the other editor graduated and I became editor. With the start of my junior year things started off well. Then we lost our yearbook advisor. So I was left to organize the layouts, make sure we met deadlines and pick up anything else that fell through the cracks. Then came the day to take club and team photos.
The details are fuzzy but either the photos didn’t turn out or were lost. Regardless, all the pages we had planned to send to the printer couldn’t go. Instead of telling the new advisor what happened, I tried to fix it on my own. Then we missed deadlines. I still tried to do it on my own. I began lying to the printers. The end of the school year came and we didn’t have yearbooks. Students would stop me on campus and ask for updates. I lied. I lied to the administration. I couldn’t show my weakness. I couldn’t tell them I failed. I stressed throughout the summer. We returned to school the next year and started working on the yearbook for my senior year. We still hadn’t made any progress on the previous year’s book. Read more
Running into Uncertainty
Photo courtesy of Picture This / Patty
I read an interview with Jonathan Fields about his new book Uncertainty. He said most of us don’t like uncertainty because it causes fear and anxiety. So we avoid it at all cost. I’m typically the guy with the plan. I like routine. So when I encounter times of uncertainty I often try and negate the effects or get it over with as soon as possible.
The last few weeks I have been more upbeat, for good reason. I’ve got new friendships, I’m training for a marathon, and I’ve got creative outlets outside of my day job. At the same time, I have run into a great deal of uncertainty. Each of these new things in my life also come with its own set of uncertainties. Read more
You Can’t Bash Script Real Life
I had an epiphany this weekend. I was on my way to see a movie with some friends and had a 30 minutes so my brain began processing the week. My thoughts quickly went to one of my friends. We had some hard conversations that week and I was thinking about the next time we’d see each other. I thought through what I wanted to say and anticipated their reactions. I worked through various scenarios and looked at the probable outcomes.
Then it hit me. I was trying to script my life the way I script my work. With my job, I have to think through all the possible outcomes of a function based on the input given. If I get malformed data I’m not anticipating, then the script fails. Other times, the script may not fail, it just doesn’t give the results I was looking for. Read more
Changing Behavior vs Changing Who You Are
Photo by Lynn M Reid
I was talking with a friend recently and they mentioned I can be brooding. First, I had to look up the word to make sure I understood what they were saying. The only time I’ve heard the word used is with regards to teenage vampire movies. I googled the definition and my heart stopped.
Showing deep unhappiness of thought
Their assessment was spot on. Others have made similar assessments. I see the glass half-empty. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can see the 50 different ways an event will fail. Read more
