Category: goals

Quit It!

“What am I doing?” Have you ever had one of those moments – maybe days or even weeks – of clarity when you realize that what you are doing is not moving you towards your long-term goals? Your actions, your job, your daily routine are taking caring of some immediate need, but are doing nothing to help you fulfill some greater purpose.

Seth Godin tackles this subject in his slim volume, The Dip. He offers a simple idea: maybe we should be quitting, quitting the things that are not moving us towards some purpose, goal or accomplishment. If what you are doing to survive is not moving you towards being the best at something, you should quit the distractions and focus on your purpose.

How about you? When you envision your greater purpose, the thing that you were built to do, how do your current activities move you towards that bright future? Are they? Or are your activities putting you in idle, revving your engine, surviving, but not moving you towards your purpose?

What about the dip the author refers to? Godin shares that getting to be the best at something requires a lot of time and effort in the trenches, working hard, sometimes in anonymity, moving towards that goal. There isn’t a lot of glamour and prestige in the dip, but if you make it to the other side, you can be the best at something, something that truly matters to you.

I was fortunate to stumble upon this book and it challenged me, and even though it is several years old, it is still relevant. I am considering what I need to quit so I can devote my time and energy to those things most valuable to me. How about you? What are you doing, what are your goals, and are you making progress towards them? Or are you just doing what you need to pay the next month’s rent? What will change in your life to move you back onto the right path?

Comments? Share what you are doing, not doing and quitting. Maybe you will inspire someone else.

Energized by Work?

For some people, the idea that one could be excited and enthusiastic about work seems ludicrous. You probably know people like that, those who dread another Monday because it feels like another five day prison sentence. It’s not like that for everyone, and it doesn’t have to be like that for anyone.

During the past week, while working on a freelance writing assignment, I had the opportunity to interview a person working for an organization that does important life-saving work in the pharmaceutical industry. As we discussed his project and the results of the company’s work, he was bubbling with genuine excitement about the past year and what the new one holds. I even commented to him that his excitement was evident and contagious.

Maybe you are fortunate to know someone like that and can draw some inspiration from that person’s story. Maybe you are blessed to be someone in a similar situation. You spring out of bed in the morning, ready to fulfill your plans and grab new opportunities.

It’s also possible that your excitement about your work falls short of what I am describing. Why? What can you change to make it better and find more meaning in your work? Is it time to change jobs or your career path? Go back to school to learn something new? Volunteer to do something fulfilling and lasting?

There is an infinite amount of important work to be done in the world. We all can only contribute the most is we are doing something we truly enjoy. Seek it out. Take a chance. Make a difference.

 

Looking Back, Moving Forward

My family and I took a trip into New York City yesterday, where we saw a few minutes of the Columbus Day parade, visited and dropped some cash at the Lego and American Girl stores at Rockefeller Center, and made the trip to the south end of the island to visit the 9/11 Memorial. Anyone who lived through that day will have their own thoughts and emotions about that day and this place, and these are mine.

We all have a purpose towards which we are working. Individually and collectively, we are striving to achieve something in our lives. There are setbacks along the way – some are minor while some are profound and even tragic – but there is no denying that we are all working towards something in our own ways.

We only have a short time to make our contribution. Most of us have careers measured in decades. Those who perished on that day in September likely thought the same thing and could not have anticipated what would unfold in the morning hours. We just do not know how long we have, so we must make every day count. Our time investments may be in family, personal growth, our faith, our relationships or our work, but there is something to be done every day. Don’t take one for granted.

Loss and pain can help us find a goal. In this picture, you are looking at names on the North Tower Memorial, with the flag hanging on the Freedom Tower that is rising to its eventual height of 1,776 feet. New development driven by motivated and purposeful people is springing from that ground where so many died. What can each of us learn from our own losses, and how can we rise and grow from those experiences?

Finally, we must take time to remember. The experience at this memorial is unique as the sound of the perpetual waterfall washes over you and drowns out the din of the surrounding construction site bustle. Look back, learn the lessons that are there for us, and move forward. My guess is that those who died that day would approve.