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Time has been more abundant since the day I removed my presence from Facebook. The first few days, I seemed to have such endless extra time, I wondered how I would ever fill it all. Slowly, but surely, I have found productive ways to fill the space. I have become more dedicated to my piano, have found time for naps, I have attempted study time (though I am struggling with my focusing on important readings and internalizing information and need to find out why before midterms begin), and I have started reading for leisure again.
Several years ago, my sister worked as a receptionist for the pre-nursing program at BYU. During that time, some conference or lecture or something of the sort came around that I guess they all attended. The speaker had written this book and they all got a copy to read before the conference or lecture or whatever that gathering was. I also lived in Provo and somehow that book ended up in my possession. Fast forward a few years, and this migrating book ended up in the pocket behind the driver's seat of my SUV. Fast forward another year and a half, and, despite having left this book in there deliberately each time I cleaned my car (and I clean it several times a month), the other day I removed it and placed it in my room. With all this time to spare now, I suppose it was only fitting that the a few nights ago I opened it up and began to read.
The book is titled "Wake Up to a Happier Life: Finding Joy in the Work You Do Every Day" by: Amanda Dickson. Those of you who have ever considered me an ornery person (and I think that includes all of you), are likely thrilled at the prospect of me waking up to a happier life. Let me first assure you of this: I will either become the happiest ornery person or the orneriest happy person you know, but I will be both.
Anyway...I wanted to share something that I have sort of learned in life, but when I read it today, having it laid out in an organized way, I gained a deeper understanding of. We are motivated to do everything that we do by one of three feelings. We are motivated by fear, we are motivated by duty, or we are motivated by love. When we do things out of fear, whether it be fear of losing something or someone, fear of failure, etc., we are led to resentment. You will despise doing what you have to do, and despise the thing or person you are doing it for. Doing something out of sense of duty is not a terrible thing, but it often leaves us feeling trapped if we only do it out of duty. The best way to be motivated to action is love. I can personally attest that when we act in love, there is a fullness and completeness and a sweet feeling that accompanies it. You will find yourself fully engaged when you act out of love.
Acting out of love is a goal I have been working hard to achieve. A great example I discovered in myself is school. I did not plan on going back to school anytime soon. Then, one day I had a thought and three days later I applied, was admitted, and enrolled. I thought a lot on what motivated me to go back to school. I told people it was because I figured I needed a degree eventually and I was already here, so why not. That was not entirely true. If you know me, you know I follow the news a lot. I spend on average a few hours a day reading news from around the world. Local news, regional news, national news, international news, odd news, entertainment news, opinions, and more. I have inside of me a very deep desire to learn things. I cannot really explain what specifically I look for in the news, but not unlike my father, I have begun to develop a wide range of knowledge of numerous topics, many of which may seem trivial to some. I enjoy knowing the history of places, particularly the places I live. I enjoy seeing something while I drive and researching it, such as the Bear River Massacre site north of here that I stopped at on the way to Rexburg one day. This coming Tuesday actually marks the 150 year anniversary of the massacre. I am motivated by a love for knowledge. I own a dictionary and thesaurus I look to often. I do crossword puzzles to increase my learning and Scrabble is my favorite board game. I have a book called "The Way Things Work" I flip through to learn basic concepts in the world around me. I am not a huge television watcher, but I do watch a lot of Discovery Channel, History Channel, and other channels with shows that teach me about the world and its history. I love to learn. That love has enabled me to open my mind and to fully engage myself in learning all that I can. I went back to school as a result.
These three motivations apply to every situation you will find yourself in. The only person who can choose how you live is you. You can go to work and spend the day looking over your shoulder for fear of being fired. You can go to work every day out of duty to your family because you need the money. Or, you can go to work every day because you love the opportunity you have today to do that job, to give your talents, to meet and communicate with other great people, and to be able to provide for your loved ones. Tomorrow, you can seek a new job, but it is today, and what lies before you will be there no matter how you choose to approach it.
The final thought I would like to share today from the book concerns change. Change happens in an instant. It occurs the moment your mind is truly made up. Every day you live that change in the decisions you make, but that change happened in an instant.
I feel that too often we are waiting for people to change when they already have. In our eyes, they are not changed until they have spent a certain amount of time making the decisions that support their change. I know we, myself included, can be judgmental, but I am certainly going to work harder to accept the changes those around me make sooner, to trust in them more.
Our Song of the Day today is "Without You" covered by the always amazing Piano Guys.
Several years ago, my sister worked as a receptionist for the pre-nursing program at BYU. During that time, some conference or lecture or something of the sort came around that I guess they all attended. The speaker had written this book and they all got a copy to read before the conference or lecture or whatever that gathering was. I also lived in Provo and somehow that book ended up in my possession. Fast forward a few years, and this migrating book ended up in the pocket behind the driver's seat of my SUV. Fast forward another year and a half, and, despite having left this book in there deliberately each time I cleaned my car (and I clean it several times a month), the other day I removed it and placed it in my room. With all this time to spare now, I suppose it was only fitting that the a few nights ago I opened it up and began to read.
The book is titled "Wake Up to a Happier Life: Finding Joy in the Work You Do Every Day" by: Amanda Dickson. Those of you who have ever considered me an ornery person (and I think that includes all of you), are likely thrilled at the prospect of me waking up to a happier life. Let me first assure you of this: I will either become the happiest ornery person or the orneriest happy person you know, but I will be both.
Anyway...I wanted to share something that I have sort of learned in life, but when I read it today, having it laid out in an organized way, I gained a deeper understanding of. We are motivated to do everything that we do by one of three feelings. We are motivated by fear, we are motivated by duty, or we are motivated by love. When we do things out of fear, whether it be fear of losing something or someone, fear of failure, etc., we are led to resentment. You will despise doing what you have to do, and despise the thing or person you are doing it for. Doing something out of sense of duty is not a terrible thing, but it often leaves us feeling trapped if we only do it out of duty. The best way to be motivated to action is love. I can personally attest that when we act in love, there is a fullness and completeness and a sweet feeling that accompanies it. You will find yourself fully engaged when you act out of love.
Acting out of love is a goal I have been working hard to achieve. A great example I discovered in myself is school. I did not plan on going back to school anytime soon. Then, one day I had a thought and three days later I applied, was admitted, and enrolled. I thought a lot on what motivated me to go back to school. I told people it was because I figured I needed a degree eventually and I was already here, so why not. That was not entirely true. If you know me, you know I follow the news a lot. I spend on average a few hours a day reading news from around the world. Local news, regional news, national news, international news, odd news, entertainment news, opinions, and more. I have inside of me a very deep desire to learn things. I cannot really explain what specifically I look for in the news, but not unlike my father, I have begun to develop a wide range of knowledge of numerous topics, many of which may seem trivial to some. I enjoy knowing the history of places, particularly the places I live. I enjoy seeing something while I drive and researching it, such as the Bear River Massacre site north of here that I stopped at on the way to Rexburg one day. This coming Tuesday actually marks the 150 year anniversary of the massacre. I am motivated by a love for knowledge. I own a dictionary and thesaurus I look to often. I do crossword puzzles to increase my learning and Scrabble is my favorite board game. I have a book called "The Way Things Work" I flip through to learn basic concepts in the world around me. I am not a huge television watcher, but I do watch a lot of Discovery Channel, History Channel, and other channels with shows that teach me about the world and its history. I love to learn. That love has enabled me to open my mind and to fully engage myself in learning all that I can. I went back to school as a result.
These three motivations apply to every situation you will find yourself in. The only person who can choose how you live is you. You can go to work and spend the day looking over your shoulder for fear of being fired. You can go to work every day out of duty to your family because you need the money. Or, you can go to work every day because you love the opportunity you have today to do that job, to give your talents, to meet and communicate with other great people, and to be able to provide for your loved ones. Tomorrow, you can seek a new job, but it is today, and what lies before you will be there no matter how you choose to approach it.
The final thought I would like to share today from the book concerns change. Change happens in an instant. It occurs the moment your mind is truly made up. Every day you live that change in the decisions you make, but that change happened in an instant.
I feel that too often we are waiting for people to change when they already have. In our eyes, they are not changed until they have spent a certain amount of time making the decisions that support their change. I know we, myself included, can be judgmental, but I am certainly going to work harder to accept the changes those around me make sooner, to trust in them more.
Our Song of the Day today is "Without You" covered by the always amazing Piano Guys.
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