Category: motivation

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motivation

Difficulties are the Way

Cartoon of a man and woman. A man reads a letter that had been thrown through a window. The woman says, "At least they returned your novel with a personal rejection letter."

I appreciated Dan Miller’s podcast the other day. The title had my attention right away. Yes, there are desirable difficulties! Here’s a link to the podcast:

https://www.48days.com/setbacks-and-difficulties/
Dan Miller’s 48 Day Podcast from December 27, 2019

As someone who has submitted cartoons and articles to magazines, sites, and books, I have experienced rejection. It is just part of the process. Not everything you create is going to be accepted by someone.

Cartoon of a man and woman. A man reads a letter that had been thrown through a window. The woman says, "At least they returned your novel with a personal rejection letter."

Yet none of the rejected cartoons or articles were a waste. I learned from each one. I have had some concepts rejected that I was sure were going to be sold. And I have had a cartoon or article accepted that I was sure was a silly idea. Each one helped me learn and polish my craft. Each concept and idea was valuable.

If you are going to do anything of value, you will experience difficulty. The road will be bumpy. You will start to question your talent and the process. But it’s the difficulties, the rejection, failures, and challenges you face that brings success. Keep plugging away and know you are not alone in facing difficulties.

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motivation

Trusting in a Fool

Cartoon of a boy with a halo. a girl says, "I'm your sister. You can't fool me!"

I felt anxious the other day only to find out I was on my fifth cup of coffee. I felt despondent and sluggish the other day only to find out it was past my bedtime. I felt angry the other day when a sem-trailer cut me off on the freeway. Later, I realized I may have been in his blind spot and he had no idea I was back there. It reminded me I have blind spots every day.

It’s a good thing I can remember my emotions and insights are fickle.

Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.

Proverbs 28:26
Cartoon of a boy with a halo. a girl says, "I'm your sister. You can't fool me!"

Insights change along with emotions and our maturity.

  • I once thought I could grow up to be an astronaut, artist, and a paramedic all at once
  • I once thought my little sisters were annoying. Then we grew up and I discovered they were mature, young women with amazing talents and wisdom.
  • I used to think my parents could learn a thing or two from me until I got married and had kids of my own. It’s amazing how many people without kids are parenting experts until they have kids!

One of the most liberating conclusions I ever had was that I am a fool… and so are you! We all are if we are not careful.

  • We change
  • Our past experiences affect our future perceptions
  • Our emotions are fickle
    • Chronic negative emotions turn into bad attitudes that are unhelpful, even harmful.
  • We are affected by groupthink
  • We can be manipulated by the media, politicians, and anyone with charisma

So how do you get wisdom? Personally, I’ve found the book of Proverbs to be very helpful. If you are not a Bible reader, seek out books of wisdom or read biographies of people you admire and respect. See what has guided them. Seek out old adages, such as Ben Franklin’s adages.

Wisdom does not change with the times or our emotions. Certain bedrock truths like treating everyone the way you want to be treated and haste makes waste, will guide us when we feel like chucking it all in and acting like a selfish jerk.

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motivation

Why it is so important to shake things up

Tombstone with the last name: Stuck

It caught me off guard when I saw it that Saturday morning. I was running through a cemetary because, well because Greenville Union Cemetary is the best place to run in Greenville, Ohio. It’s peaceful, there’s a long paved road and not much activity on it. The residents don’t seem to mind, either.

I was peacefully running along when I saw it in the morning sun. The tombstone stood right in front of me and was shouting a message to me.

Tombstone with the last name: Stuck

Someone was stuck, and it was me! I had attempted to revive my business that had suffered two cross-country moves. I was looking for a job that matched my skills. Nothing seemed to be working. As I stared at the message from the beyond, one thing became clear.

It was time to shake things up or stay stuck!

I didn’t feel like spending the rest of my life in the cemetery. So the only logical step was to shake things up.

That day, I changed my strategy and eventually found a job that I have loved. It has allowed me to use my graphic design skills in a management position. With the benefit of hindsight, I say the discomfort was worth it.

Looking back, I am thankful for that time. It was not because I was struggling that makes it great, but because my wife and I decided a couple of years before that to take some risks. We could have chosen to coast by for the rest of our lives and be comfortable. Instead, we took some steps by faith and shook things up.

There are many who are comfortable in their discomfort. They have settled into a situation they don’t particularly like, but feel it’s better than trying something new. It doesn’t have to be that way! No matter your age, you can try something new. It’s much better to shake things up than to be stuck and feel like you are biding your time in a figurative cemetery.

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motivation

The Freedom to Make Bad Choices

Cartoon of a boy with a big mouth about to consume a birthday cake. The caption reads, "This choice make come back to haunt him."

Ooh! That choice may come back to haunt him! But I can relate. My inner child likes to make gluttony an Olympic sport. I’ve been called a cookie monster fairly recently. I have made my way through scores of cakes, pies, and assorted baked goods over the years. They would probably fill an Olympic size pool.

Cartoon of a boy with a big mouth about to consume a birthday cake. The caption reads, "This choice make come back to haunt him."

We have the freedom to make bad choices every day. Of course, there is always a price to pay. If I didn’t attempt to control my appetite and never exercised, I could be facing a much heavier body with chronic illness. But that would be my choice.

I could choose to weigh thirty pounds heavier as I did twenty years ago. It would be my choice, because as Zig Ziglar said, “I never accidentally ate anything!”

Some bad choices are made knowing there are consequences. Some are made out of ignorance. We can be foolish and choose to ignore the wisdom that can save us from heartache. Some bad choices are made out of entitlement. We think we deserve something so we feel justified in making that choice.

But when we make a bad choice, let’s be honest enough to admit it was our choice. It does no good to blame others for our bad choices. It reminds me of this proverb:

The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

Proverb 19:3 KJV

Yes, we have the freedom to make bad choices. But we also have the responsibility to own up to them. The next time I see a plate of cookies (especially chocolate chip cookies), I will probably indulge. But I won’t blame anyone but me if I gain a few pounds.

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motivation

You are a Masterpiece. Handle With Care!

Cartoon of a coach pointing at a chalkboard that says, "you are a masterpiece. The coach says, "Lets go over this one more time!

The Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. But it wasn’t always considered so. It intrigued me when I first learned it was stolen in 1911 from The Louvre. It was missing in action for two years before it was recovered. By then, it had become the most famous painting in the world. 

Before the theft, the verdict wasn’t that clear that it was a masterpiece. It was the hype that caused more and more people to declare it so. It only took 400 years for the painting to really hit its stride.

Cartoon of a coach pointing at a chalkboard that says, "you are a masterpiece. The coach says, "Lets go over this one more time!

You may not realize it, but you are a masterpiece too. You may be a little rough around the edges and have had some bumps and tears. But it’s the imperfections that make a masterpiece shine. You may not have been told how great you really are until now. But that doesn’t change that you were a masterpiece all along. It just took someone speaking truth and life into you.

So let’s go over it one more time: You are a masterpiece! If you haven’t treated yourself as one until now, it’s high time you did.

  • Handle yourself with care
  • Give yourself grace
  • Slow down enough to breath and get some self-care
  • Treat others around you as masterpieces, because they are too
  • Masterpieces look different.
    • They’re different colors,
    • shapes
    • sizes
    • styles (cultures)
    • media (beliefs)

It’s time we treat ourselves and those around us as the masterpieces we all are.