When "Stuff" Happens

Last night, one of my kids ran up from the basement announcing that the toilet was clogged. Expecting a run-of-the-mill toilet paper jam that happens from time to time in a house with six kids, I found a situation far beyond what I was prepared to see. The toilet indeed was not flushing, but the septic lines had also backed up into the tub in one bathroom and into the shower in the other. In the latter, the sewage was beginning to spill out of the shower and onto the bathroom floor. The brand-new bathroom floor! This was a crappy situation indeed!

But that’s just how life is. Crap sometimes bubbles up in our life and we are forced to deal with it. Other times, people may throw their poo at us, hoping to see us struggle and fail. Maybe they have so much excrement in their lives, they feel as though they need to share it with us? In either circumstance, poop happens. It’s a part of life.

Do you know how the pioneers got rid of manure? They had two uses for it: fuel and fertilizer. Granted, they had for more crap to deal with in their lives, so they learned how to profit from the poop. Whether fuel for their fires or fertilizer for their crops, they made the most of the manure.

Crap happens so we need to be like the pioneers and use it as fuel or fertilizer. Fuel for our drive and motivation and ambition, or fertilizer for our personal growth and development. Don’t get buried in it, be a pioneer.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on...

The Art of Intentionality

“Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others’ choices make you.” – Richie Norton I am not even sure who Richie Norton is, but I love that quote! I imagine a ship drifting out to sea, pushed around by the wind and the waves. No course of direction, yet the captain is frustrated when the ship ends up dashed against the rocks, trapped on a sandbar or marooned on an inhospitable island. It is easy to complain when life takes us where we do not want to go. But who is really to blame if we have never set our sails to align us along an appropriate course? Do we blame the waves, wind and the weather? Or should we blame the captain of the ship? It is our life and our ship. We must set our sails with intentionality and determined choices. Otherwise, we are doomed to aimlessly drift along according to the choices and decisions of others.

Hasty Hares

We live in a world full of hares. People darting from one thing to another. Always looking for a shortcut. Constantly seeking a quick fix. Ever searching for a hack. And more than anything, they want it NOW! Speed seems to have replaced diligent planning and patient determination. It’s all about quick results, immediate feedback and instant gratification. People seem to be less concerned with the direction they are headed than how fast they are moving. They don’t know where they are going – and are quite possibly moving in the wrong direction – but at least they’re making good time! But the pace and aimless effort catches up. They get jaded and burn out. Or they simply end up “lost.” They fail to notice that movement isn’t progress. They don’t consider that sheer velocity, without control and accuracy, is dangerous and destructive. They forget the tortoise wins. Every. Single. Time. “It matters not how slowly you go. It only matters that you do not stop.” – Confucio...

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog