Leading and Love

After years of parenting, being married, and having a career, we’ve noticed that we are better at doing certain things that we might have struggled with in our youth. And there are some residual behaviors that we are still working to fix. We agree that we are now clear about our passions and are able to continuously persevere for desired outcomes. Why are we even bragging about this? We’re not bragging and “sorry” if it comes off that way. But at our age, adding anything to an already packed routine must add value to our marriage and the people that matter to us. If it fails that minimum criteria, then we would have dedicated irretrievable time to something immaterial. That time could have been spent adding value to our marriage, to our children, to our careers, addressing each element of the sequence that makes us better people.

Getting certain outcomes requires dedication, practice, diligence, and then maybe, just maybe, a dab of luck for flavor. But it usually starts with you working on something you care about and then going at it continuously until you get your desired outcome. That thing you care about could be what you are passionate about. The continuous work could be called perseverance. Angela Duckworth summarizes passion and perseverance using one word - GRIT. Grit is what connects you to your goals. It prevents you from shooting the wrong way.

Idea #1

Experimenting is a good way to figure out what you really care about. But be careful not to fall into the experiment trap. Our children played multiple sports before they either quit or settled on one. University students sometimes jump from program to program, trying to figure out what they want to do as a career. Be attentive to what you are discovering in the trial space. Look for common and disparate elements and catalogue your response to each.

Idea #2

Being narrow on your goal is a great idea. If you are doing something that you don’t like, then figure out why you don’t like doing it. Try and determine what is causing the negative experience, make the adjustment and see what the result is. If you had to make major adjustments then that means you probably should be doing something else. For example, you thought you were passionate about education so you became a teacher, only to realize that you can’t stand teaching. Maybe teaching isn’t the passion. Perhaps, you’re passionate about the politics of education, or the technology that supports teaching.

Quote #1

Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening. - Angela Duckworth

Quote #2

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. -Newt Gingrich

Quote #3

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. -Robert Collier

Challenge

Take some time and legitimately contemplate what you are passionate about. When you determine what it is, write it down, and present it to someone you value.

Affirmation

I only engage in activities which add value to my life.