Category: Life
Jun 10
Perfection? I think I will pass . . .
When you are doing a task, do you feel if it doesn’t get done “right”, you aren’t going to do it at all? What does doing it “right” look like? Is it perfection? Diligent effort over a period of time will produce a high degree of effectiveness, not perfection.
Perfection is: “an exemplification of supreme excellence or an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence”.
I was thinking about this and how easy it is to be in one extreme or another on this matter. One extreme is putting in a half-hearted effort over a long period of time and having only marginal results. Never approaching anything close to what would be considered perfection.
The other extreme is what I want to focus on, putting in so much time into a project because you want to get as close to perfect as you can. This results in one of two things.
- Accomplishing very little, but what you do is as close to perfect as you can get.
- Not starting anything because you know you will not have the time to do it to your level of perfection.
The end result is the same, being ineffective and having minimal influence in those things you do. I work at a church where we have an awesome music department, a great T.V. department, and a strong web presence. I oversee our IT area, along with supporting over 30 websites with a skeleton staff. Our IT staff has shrunk over the past few years and we have lost some good web programmers. We have taken over the support of more of our Outreach ministry websites from volunteers who develop in their own favorite flavor of code. In order for us to accomplish this, we had to change the way we do business. We standardized on developing all our sites in Joomla, realizing we needed to be as effective as we could with the limited resources we had. It was a complete shift in traditional thinking, but it has worked out.
Below is a chart of what perfection should look like. As a co-worker of mine, Matt Leonetti said, “If it passes the mom test, it is good enough”. What does that mean? For those perfectionist out there it is this: If your mom can’t tell the difference between the product (music, video, or web) when you get to the “Sweet Spot”, or when it is done to your level of perfection, it passes.
Perfection robs you of being effective.
Perfection robs you of having an impact.
I am certainly not advocating grinding out shoddy work, but I am suggesting that you aim squarely at the “Sweet Spot” that produces maximum results without wasting time trying to gain a more perfect result, that for the most part, no one would notice. Ask yourself if you can relax your standards to get more accomplished, which in effect, increases your overall effectiveness.
I encourage you strive to be as effective as you can by putting in a consistent diligent effort at all you do, knowing that unfinished work benefits no one. Take the time to look at what you do differently and maximize your results without sacrificing the quality of your work.
Dec 09
Tis the Season . . . for what?
This time of year seems to magnify our emotions. A lot of lip service is paid to having a holly jolly Christmas, but for many it is a very lonely time. Isolated and without family, it can be a very trying time for some.
I wax and wane with these feelings during Christmas. The seemingly over-exuberance of fun others seem to have makes me feel like I am missing out on something. Like I am not part of the club – whatever “club” that might be. Stores are filled with hustle and bustle. Roads are jammed with busy travelers. But something is missing.
I’ve taken time off from work this week and next and have not yet felt like I can relax. Everything is caught up in the blur of preparations. We have three family Christmases to celebrate, and we’ve also have some work celebrations. These all take time to get ready for and once the event is over, it’s on to the next. Even when nothing is happening, the tape that plays over and over in my head is filled with the unfinished business for the next gathering. But busyness is a poor substitute for meaning.
When I was a kid, Christmas was the most special time of year. It was all about the food, cutting your own tree, beautiful lights, friends, family, baking cookies, and waiting. Why have things changed so much? Well, now we are the ones putting it all together. Being a kid, you just sat back and enjoyed the time. Is it possible to put the genie back in the bottle?
I think that is the challenge and what we all are faced with. Stop the hours of shopping, preparing, cleaning, running, and this and that. This week, I have wanted to go see a movie or two, maybe bowling, playing family games, making lefse, and other family fun. So far, no go . . . Even though I might have cleared the decks, if everyone else hasn’t, then we still have an issue. We ALL need to be on board. It’s a purposeful effort.
It really doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we do it together. So far this season, we have not got into the “family time” groove… yet. We have another week of vacation–and another opportunity. I hope you too can clear the decks, slow down, and add additional mortar to those special relationships in your life.
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more”. ~Dr. Seuss
Remember whose birth we celebrate this Christmas season. Without Him and what He did for us, we are lost. It is only through Jesus that we are able to freely give that gift of love to others. What we give was first given to us. Happy birthday, Jesus! Don’t forget Him. He is the reason for the season.
Dec 09
Honey, let’s go for a walk
That thought has drifted through my head at least once a week for the past 6 months – which happens to be the last time me and my wife Julie went for a walk. This morning it drifted through again. I reached up, grabbed it, and then hung on to it. While I was holding it captive, I proceeded to make an analysis if this is a good day for walk.
- Was it cloudy out? No – a little hazy
- Was it warm out? No – it was 20 degrees
- Was it windy out? No – it was relatively calm
- Did I feel like it? No – this isn’t unusual
- Do I need the exercise? Yes – 30 minutes a day goes a long way
Conclusion? Inconclusive evidence. By this time, I was sick enough of not getting out for a simple 30-minute walk, that I got up and asked Julie if she wanted to go for a walk. She said, “Sure!” Alright then! We were committed.
We got ready and set out. The air was crisp and the slight breeze quickly froze my cheeks (on my face). As we were walking, we started talking and the cold was quickly forgotten. Nothing earth-shattering or urgent, just nice casual conversation. This is one of the best by-products of getting out into another atmosphere with your spouse. Conversation happens much easier.
We are a 5-minute walk from a county park, so we headed in that direction. Within 10 minutes, we were walking along the Mississippi River. It seems like you enter another world. We were shaking our heads and asking why we don’t do this more often. It was absolutely beautiful outside. Yes, it might have been cold and winter-like (after all, it is December), but it completely recharges your batteries.
Therein lies the issue. If you know all the benefits, why don’t you do those things more often? Why are we ruled so much by our feelings. It’s ridiculous! I knew before we left that I would be happier, more healthy, and feeling better when we got home. But still, it was SIX months—the whole summer—since we took a walk! Arg!
Alright, a change is in order. If I made all my decisions on whether I “felt like it” or not, I wouldn’t do anything. Criminy! I need to move over into what the results would bring if I did what I was contemplating. I am not taking on the world, just this one thing. Thirty minutes of walking a day… outside and with Julie as much as possible. Alright, my sails are set. It says in James 2:17 “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” It is time that my faith mixes with the movement of my legs, and work with the Lord to accomplish those I couldn’t accomplish on my own.
Nov 09
Two days in November
The air was warmed by the cheesecloth-filtered sun. If felt much warmer than the 45 registering on the car thermometer. The parking lot was virtually empty as we arrived for our golf outing on the last weekend in November. It couldn’t be nicer out as I teed off from the first hole with my brother and my Dad. It was late enough in the season that the sun on half the holes, was always in our eyes. The air was perfectly calm and the only breeze was when we sped to our next shot on the propane power cart. I don’t think we’ve all golfed together this year and here we were out for the second weekend in a row, two days after Thanksgiving.
It is amazing all the things that crop up to prevent you from doing some of the things that matter the most. My dad is 78 and living by himself. It has been a little over two years since my mom passed away, and this time of year – the holidays – can be very difficult for him. I’m sure it would be no different for us if we were in his shoes. We all spent a wonderful time at my brother’s house on Thanksgiving Day as the house was filled with food, football, a buzz of activity, and family. Leaving that atmosphere to return to an empty house would be tough. I would think it would amplify the loneliness.
As we were walking up the 18th fairway, the sun was sitting lower in the sky, and still the weather was taking center stage. When we putted our last putt, put the flag back into the hole, and tallied up the scores, who won or lost was of little importance. It became clearer that the vehicle that gets us together is less important than just spending time with each other. Time and again, I come away wondering why we don’t do this more often. I am dumfounded. One reason could be that we just don’t feel like doing things that may take some effort. But, maybe what we should be asking ourselves is, ‘Will we be happier if we actually do the thing we are contemplating?’
Anyway, back from the rabbit trail. I could not be happier that I was able to spend the last two Saturdays in November with both my brother and my dad. Time goes by so fast. This winter I will be looking for other avenues to get us together. Cold, snow, short days, and being locked inside – these all work to isolate us in the best of circumstances. With my dad, I am sure it is even tougher.
I will remember these days and I give thanks to the Lord that I still have my dad around to do things and build memories with. Oh, by the way… unlike last week, he beat me today.
Nov 09
Happy Thanksgiving! . . . wait, is it over?
Did you have a Happy Thanksgiving? I sure did. Now onto Christmas! Wait a minute… the Christmas season started right after Halloween, right? Christmas music has been playing on the radio, and the stores have been decorated for a few weeks now. It seems like this pesky little holiday called Thanksgiving gets wedged into the mix and then gets used as an accelerant for Christmas called, “Black Friday”.
I am certainly not against Christmas. It is probably my favorite time of year. What I don’t like is that it seems like we allow everyone else call the shots when we are celebrating these holidays. Why does Halloween and Christmas garner so much attention and Thanksgiving comes and goes in a puff of smoke? We even actually get two days off for Thanksgiving—and none for Halloween. I guess we need one of those days to celebrate Thanksgiving and the other to start shopping for Christmas. We can’t even slow down long enough to let the dust settle.
The hijacking of these holidays serves one major purpose—to sell more stuff! The stores, TV stations, and advertisers start earlier and earlier to sell more and more. They couldn’t care less about what these holidays are really about. Family, friends, God, and country? Who needs it… Now let’s get selling! Thanksgiving pays the highest price, because we don’t buy anything for it. It is a time to stop, pause, reflect, and give thanks for all that we have in America.
Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside each year for giving thanks to God for blessings received during the year. We live in the best country in the world. We are the freest. We are the most prosperous. We are the most generous. We are truly a blessed nation. I feel very fortunate to call America my home. I am very grateful. Along with that, I have an awesome family and great friends. I am able to freely worship and exercise my Christian faith. I am not persecuted for my beliefs and can travel freely anywhere I choose. No other country in the world, besides Canada, celebrates Thanksgiving. That should tell you something.
So here is what I am doing. I am opting out of the hustle and bustle of this 30-second sound bite “holiday”. The retailers don’t have anything to gain by droning on about Thanksgiving, but we all do. I am going to take these few precious days to slow down and let the Thanksgiving aura persist before it gets snuffed out by the oncoming freight train of the Christmas season. I will then prepare for Christmas in its due season, because right on its heels is Valentine’s Day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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