Strength and Motivation
Protesting the List
Focus On The Good
There’s plenty of not-so-good things to get our attention in the world today. There are endless concerns we have as parents, spouses, adults, employees, Americans, and human beings. My latest concern is the complete brain fog I have been lost in during my seemingly endless terminal leave. I never know what day it is. I have zero motivation to get out of bed in the morning. I can’t even think of anything terribly interesting to do to fill up my day, so the day just drags on and on and on until suddenly it is dinnertime, and I finally think of something to do. I then decide to save it for the next day because I don’t have any time left in the current day, but never actually get around to it the next day…sigh…
You may just want to slap me upside my head because your life is so far on the other end of the spectrum that you don’t know what day it is because life is chewing you up and spitting you out so fast that you don’t have time to catch your breath. I know it is not much consolation, but I have lived most of my life in that state of being, so don’t think I can’t empathize with you! The fact of the matter is that whether life is running us over or going so slowly that we can’t figure out how to live it out, we all need to break-break and take a step back to focus on the good.
So, what is the good? I have a friend who would easily tell you that his good is his grand babies (isn’t that right, Fred?) My son and his wife are about to have a baby, and that’s good! My husband and I went for a drive yesterday to look at some property for sale, and there were so many fields lined with sunflowers! 🌻 Good stuff!
Although I am a type B personality, I am not a type of person who always sees the good. I get just as bogged down with the bad and the negative and the tragic as anyone else. I can also be a crabby Negative Nancy, going around raining on everyone’s parade when they are trying to focus on what little good they can find. It can take a great deal of effort to remain positive in the midst of so many negative forces and circumstances imposing themselves on our lives.
My favorite things to focus on are things that keep me busy creating things. I guess this is why I love purchasing notebooks and pens and craft supplies and things at Lowe’s. But I don’t have to turn a blind eye to every “ungood” thing. Major League Baseball actually just started up for an abbreviated season. I don’t even know if you can call it a season. 👎 There will be no one in the stands (although they will be playing the noise of fans cheering as if they are!). There will be no high fives or locker room interviews or fans catching home run balls. There will be no pilgrimages to the Home Run Derby or the World Series…no celebrities singing the National Anthem or throwing out the first pitch. But games are being played. <—good stuff 👍
For me, my main focus stems from my faith in God. My faith, which is the evidence of the things I hope for, provides me the foundation of the good I know will keep my footing solid, even when I can’t remember what day it is. Right now, our country is acting like it can’t remember where it came from and doesn’t know where it is going. Right now, some people think it is petty to wear a mask and some people think it is a life-saving measure. Right now, I have just spent 8 hours typing a blog that should have taken me only 30 minutes because my normal humor and charm feels like it needed to be filtered to ensure I didn’t offend anyone. I just double checked, and it is Friday, so as I head into the weekend, I will focus on the opportunity to work on some small projects I will force myself to be motivated to complete so that I can feel accomplished by Monday, and that would be GOOD STUFF!
Called to Be YOU!
You are who you were made to be! All of your idiosyncrasies and qwerks make you exactly and uniquely you. The more quickly you embrace those things about you, the more quickly you can get to part two of your personal development.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, it is time to accept that although you are indeed uniquely you, don’t hide behind it as if everyone should “just deal with it.” That is an antisocial, selfish, and inconsiderate way of interacting with others.
Instead, use your talents and abilities for good. Where can you “plug in”? What about you can enhance the world around you? How can you take what you are made of to make amazing things happen? How can you partner with others and combine your abilities?
It doesn’t matter what you like, dislike, prefer, can’t stand, or can’t live without…you have value, and you are who you were made to be. Please embrace it and share it with others to make your corner of the world so great.
Sometimes You Just Can’t Win
Sometimes, in spite of all of your amazing feats of resiliency after getting knocked in the dirt, you don’t get to carry home the Comeback Kid trophy. Sometimes, you just can’t win.
I want to be sure to give myself plenty of credit. I have won many days and many battles. I have been knocked in the dirt, kicked when I was down, and spat in the face. I have picked myself up and continued to move forward. I survived, then I thrived. I helped others out of pits. I taught others how to thrive. I brought teams together and helped connect military healthcare with community partners and Veterans Affairs.
I had a good run, and I have no regrets. I am proud of myself and my service. There are some things I am looking forward to once I become a civilian again:
- Being able to wear colorful fingernail polish
- Being able to wear my hair in any configuration I want
- Being able to carry any color backpack
- Being able to wear any color and style earrings I want
- Being able to talk politics at work
- Being able to invite people at work to church
- Calling people by their first name
- Saying “yeah” or “okay” in place of “yes, sir/ma’am”
- Not being on a recall roster, deployment team, or response team
- Getting to take vacation and go wherever I want and not have to take leave on weekend days
- No PT test for “job security”
- Not having to wear a hat outside unless I want to
- Being able to use one of those clear umbrellas that you can see through so you can keep it low down to you
- No more “additional duties”
My military career is drawing to a close, but my life is taking off! I am far from finished helping teams do amazing things and teaching people to lead with excellence. I am still writing my book. I have worked as a civilian before, and as I return to civilian life, I bring with me the sum of my experiences. I am a survivor. I am a leader. I will thrive and lift others to higher heights because it matters. I am FAR from finished.
Sometimes, you think you’ve lost when it is not even close to over. Take a deep breath. Keep getting back up when you’re knocked down. Breathe. Accept the moment as is. Breathe. Talk to God and then LISTEN. Breathe. Start to gather yourself and build a game plan. Cry a little (or a lot) if you need to. Another nice, deep, cleansing breath, my friend…and then start to move. Move forward…it’s going to work out. We will win. Winning might not look like we imagined it would, but it will still be amazing!