Categories
motivation

Finding and Fighting Our Faults

It’s one thing to find faults in others; it’s entirely another to recognize and fix our own faults.

I was reading a biography of John Wesley when I came across this passage:

A quote on finding and fighting our faults by Marianne Kirlew

Although the author geared her biography toward children, that nugget was invaluable to me.

The author knew about emotional intelligence and self-awareness before we had names for these qualities.

The only effective fault-finding is when we identify our faults and take action to defeat them.

Looking at somebody else and pointing out their faults is too easy. But our blind spots make it incredibly difficult to do the same for ourselves. Be merciful to others and relentless in finding our faults.

But don’t stop there. Take action and fight our faults into submission! Now if you excuse me, I need to have a serious finding and fighting session. And this time, I give myself no excuses!

Categories
Business motivation

Habitually Practicing Effectiveness

Too often, we believe that to be effective at anything is a natural gift. And while it’s true some of us are gifted in administration, visionary leadership, or charisma, it still takes effective practice to get anything done.

"Effectiveness, in other words, is a habit; that is, a complex of practices. And pratices can always be learned" Peter Drucker in "The Essential Drucker"

What do you mean we have to practice being effective? Peter Drucker addresses this in the book. He equates it to the musician playing scales. It’s getting to the basics and doing the hard work.

Manual workers need only to be efficient. Knowledge workers can only be effective if they are efficient at the right things.

For me, that leads me to consider what is effective communication in the information age. And what does it look like to effectively communicate to internal and external audiences.

As I start the work week, I am asking myself, “How can I be most effective to my organiztion?” Perhaps, I should ask that at each start of the week.

So how about you? How are you habitually practiving effectiveness?

Categories
motivation

What’s Your Story?

We all have one. You may think it’s boring because you lived it. It may not be ready for the world, or perhaps you don’t want the world to know it… yet.

We have all faced incredible challenges. Some of us ran crying from our fifth birthday party because you showed off with a stunt, only to have the swing hit you in the back and knock you to the ground. At five years old, I felt humiliated and in pain. Wait a minute, did I say that was me?

You may be tempted to belittle and ignore it, but we all have stories to tell. And your story may be just what someone needs to hear. What’s your story?

Categories
Christianity Missions motivation

Lessons From a Mission Trip

Last month, I was privileged to go on a short-term mission trip with my employer, OneHope, to the Dominican Republic. And the good news is I didn’t break the country! Along the way, I learned a few lessons from a mission trip.

I have been on a few mission trips over the years. Whenever I am on a new experience, I keep my eye out for new lessons. Some of them may be new. Others reassure me past lessons are still valid. On this trip, three lessons stood out to me.

Rainy afternoon in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
A rainy afternoon in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Categories
motivation Running

Running as a Form of Prayer Step-by-step

Mornings are my favorite time to run. As I head out the door, the new day has yet to take shape. There are so many possibilities. An early morning run is an excellent time to begin the day in prayer. Indeed, I’ve found running to be a form of prayer. I agree with the ishouldberunning.com blog that prayer and running go hand-in-hand.

I didn’t start running to strengthen my spiritual life. Instead, I began because I wasn’t happy with my dad’s gut. But as I have turned running into a habit, I’ve found the practice to be just as spiritual as physical.

How do you connect with God? How do you make running a form of prayer? The following steps have helped me.