I guess everyone forgets how it all starts. The wiggle, the scoot, the army crawl, the curiosity... See how my nephew Harrison is progressing.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Pursuing what is right
I had an experience this week that served as a great reminder of how easy it is for people to get wrapped up in the pursuit of something for the wrong reasons.
I think I am a fighter or at least put forth valiant effort in situations where I want something bad enough. I have even been known to achieve things, with a certain amount of success, just because someone told me I couldn't do something. It seems however, that the longer the pursuit for what you want the more frustration you can experience if you are doing it for the wrong reason. If I want something bad enough I will hang in there and keep pressing forward. Every once in a while there will be a definitive halt to the pursuit of what I want. The decision maker says "no" or the circumstance needed to get want I want are just not possible. In these situations I tend to accept things as they are and either move on or regroup to find another way to approach the situation later. It doesn't feel good to give up but it is a release for my conscience and it allows me to focus on the next thing.
But what happens when you don't give up?
I came across a person this week who would not accept "no" as the final answer and was willing to take extravagant steps in order to continue the pursuit of what they wanted. While on the surface this seems heroic. This person could be called persistent, dedicated, or courageous. This kind of effort is how people overcome illnesses, achieve remarkable feats, or win important competitions. America has a long history of people who didn't give up and went on to become important examples of how to pursue your hearts desires.
What if the pursuit isn't for health, achieving impossible dreams, or beating incredible odds? What if the pursuit is based on just the success of the pursuit? Your ability to get what you want is the only reward. Is it still noble and worthy? My answer--no... The line between taking right and wrong actions becomes very thin when the outcome you are pursuing is not a worthy cause. Getting what you want just because you can get it is not a noble cause.
Not Giving Up + The Pursuit of a less than noble cause = Dishonesty and Greed
Based on my experience this week, I feel like I have to re-evaluate all of the motivations behind my goals and the things I am trying to achieve. I witnessed how easy it was for someone to want something so bad that they lost sight of what was right and wrong because of the formula mentioned above. The value of the item they wanted was less than $10 and they simply did not qualify to receive it. In turn, they invested hours and hours into finding a way to get what they wanted because they just wanted it. The result of this pursuit: lying, asking others to breech confidentiality, providing false information, and eventually the receipt of the item they were pursuing. They got what they wanted and probably slept well that night but I wonder exactly what feelings they experienced when it was all over. Was it a sense of accomplishment? Were they truly happy? Did they really feel good telling everyone about their achievement? How long did the positive emotions last?
Imagine what could have been done if that time had been invested into something noble. I would like to encourage everyone to look at your own life and make sure that you have your heart in the right place when you are pursuing the things that you want the most. Don't pursue things just because. Make sure they are noble and worthy.
Ask yourself:
Will it make your parents proud? Will it make you a better person or help someone else in a way that they couldn't help themselves? At the end of day, will it be something that sits in your closet or on a shelf? Will it wear out or goes out of style? Or will it be life changing, make a difference, or be considered a priceless gift?
I think I am a fighter or at least put forth valiant effort in situations where I want something bad enough. I have even been known to achieve things, with a certain amount of success, just because someone told me I couldn't do something. It seems however, that the longer the pursuit for what you want the more frustration you can experience if you are doing it for the wrong reason. If I want something bad enough I will hang in there and keep pressing forward. Every once in a while there will be a definitive halt to the pursuit of what I want. The decision maker says "no" or the circumstance needed to get want I want are just not possible. In these situations I tend to accept things as they are and either move on or regroup to find another way to approach the situation later. It doesn't feel good to give up but it is a release for my conscience and it allows me to focus on the next thing.
But what happens when you don't give up?
I came across a person this week who would not accept "no" as the final answer and was willing to take extravagant steps in order to continue the pursuit of what they wanted. While on the surface this seems heroic. This person could be called persistent, dedicated, or courageous. This kind of effort is how people overcome illnesses, achieve remarkable feats, or win important competitions. America has a long history of people who didn't give up and went on to become important examples of how to pursue your hearts desires.
What if the pursuit isn't for health, achieving impossible dreams, or beating incredible odds? What if the pursuit is based on just the success of the pursuit? Your ability to get what you want is the only reward. Is it still noble and worthy? My answer--no... The line between taking right and wrong actions becomes very thin when the outcome you are pursuing is not a worthy cause. Getting what you want just because you can get it is not a noble cause.
Not Giving Up + The Pursuit of a less than noble cause = Dishonesty and Greed
Based on my experience this week, I feel like I have to re-evaluate all of the motivations behind my goals and the things I am trying to achieve. I witnessed how easy it was for someone to want something so bad that they lost sight of what was right and wrong because of the formula mentioned above. The value of the item they wanted was less than $10 and they simply did not qualify to receive it. In turn, they invested hours and hours into finding a way to get what they wanted because they just wanted it. The result of this pursuit: lying, asking others to breech confidentiality, providing false information, and eventually the receipt of the item they were pursuing. They got what they wanted and probably slept well that night but I wonder exactly what feelings they experienced when it was all over. Was it a sense of accomplishment? Were they truly happy? Did they really feel good telling everyone about their achievement? How long did the positive emotions last?
Imagine what could have been done if that time had been invested into something noble. I would like to encourage everyone to look at your own life and make sure that you have your heart in the right place when you are pursuing the things that you want the most. Don't pursue things just because. Make sure they are noble and worthy.
Ask yourself:
Will it make your parents proud? Will it make you a better person or help someone else in a way that they couldn't help themselves? At the end of day, will it be something that sits in your closet or on a shelf? Will it wear out or goes out of style? Or will it be life changing, make a difference, or be considered a priceless gift?
Friday, April 4, 2008
What are you watching?
I have just about given up watching the news on TV.
I don't know if I have just become more aware, if I grew up watching a different type of news, or if the news has changed. The news has become a drama show. Each time I watch I find myself getting sucked into a hardship story, a crime case, or a clinging to a teaser that makes me want to stay tuned until the next commercial is over. Once I realize what has happened, I feel like I have been taken advantage of by the news people. How can I fall for that old trick again?
I know better. I have worked with members of the media on several occasions covering press events. I have stood right next to the reporter as they interviewed someone and saw first hand what information was exchanged. Then hours later, I have watched the editing happen and somehow the story evolves into something where I wonder if I missed a part of the event. The edited version is more exciting and more interesting than anything I saw happen. This type of editing in the news is a top story or headline and it is portrayed as non-fiction or reality. On TV or in the movies this editing is hailed as creative storytelling and is openly portrayed as fiction or fantasy.
I think most people would agree that reporters and TV stations create their own drama to get higher ratings or to show off their TV personalities. We all know what they are trying to do but we keep watching anyway. It makes me wonder what role you and I play in this process. We are the people who buy the gossip magazines and who tune in to watch celebrities go to rehab or get arrested. Why do we enjoy seeing people fail and view it as entertainment but when we watch people on the TV news we wrap ourselves into stories that are personal, dramatic, and full of condemnation and accusations. We watch the news stories and begin talking to the TV set with phrases like, "those poor people," or "that is just horrible," or "I can't believe anyone would do that."
We know better so why do we do it? What is it in us that has to see what happened on the side of the road that caused traffic to slow to a crawl? Do we really want to see what could be happening? We know it could be bad and possibly traumatic for us to see it. Yet, we stop and look as if not looking is beyond our control? Why do we watch when we know better.
So before I started this blog I was ready to say how bad the media was and how we should all just tune them out of our lives. I was ready to blame them for everything. As I began to write things out I have developed a different perspective. I realized that the media does have some responsibility for what they choose to show on TV and how it is portrayed but really they are just feeding off of us. We are causing the drama frenzy because we can't stop watching.
So what do we do?
Avoidance and/or re-direction is usually my first course of action. Probably the biggest thing we could do is to change our hearts. We need to think about people in bad situations as if they were a close relative. While we shouldn't condone bad behavior, we need to love them and hope they to improve if they have made a mistake. Seeing people we care about struggle with life might be dramatic but it certainly wouldn't be entertaining. This is the type of drama that if given the choice, we instinctively would not want to watch.
What are you watching?
I don't know if I have just become more aware, if I grew up watching a different type of news, or if the news has changed. The news has become a drama show. Each time I watch I find myself getting sucked into a hardship story, a crime case, or a clinging to a teaser that makes me want to stay tuned until the next commercial is over. Once I realize what has happened, I feel like I have been taken advantage of by the news people. How can I fall for that old trick again?
I know better. I have worked with members of the media on several occasions covering press events. I have stood right next to the reporter as they interviewed someone and saw first hand what information was exchanged. Then hours later, I have watched the editing happen and somehow the story evolves into something where I wonder if I missed a part of the event. The edited version is more exciting and more interesting than anything I saw happen. This type of editing in the news is a top story or headline and it is portrayed as non-fiction or reality. On TV or in the movies this editing is hailed as creative storytelling and is openly portrayed as fiction or fantasy.
I think most people would agree that reporters and TV stations create their own drama to get higher ratings or to show off their TV personalities. We all know what they are trying to do but we keep watching anyway. It makes me wonder what role you and I play in this process. We are the people who buy the gossip magazines and who tune in to watch celebrities go to rehab or get arrested. Why do we enjoy seeing people fail and view it as entertainment but when we watch people on the TV news we wrap ourselves into stories that are personal, dramatic, and full of condemnation and accusations. We watch the news stories and begin talking to the TV set with phrases like, "those poor people," or "that is just horrible," or "I can't believe anyone would do that."
We know better so why do we do it? What is it in us that has to see what happened on the side of the road that caused traffic to slow to a crawl? Do we really want to see what could be happening? We know it could be bad and possibly traumatic for us to see it. Yet, we stop and look as if not looking is beyond our control? Why do we watch when we know better.
So before I started this blog I was ready to say how bad the media was and how we should all just tune them out of our lives. I was ready to blame them for everything. As I began to write things out I have developed a different perspective. I realized that the media does have some responsibility for what they choose to show on TV and how it is portrayed but really they are just feeding off of us. We are causing the drama frenzy because we can't stop watching.
So what do we do?
Avoidance and/or re-direction is usually my first course of action. Probably the biggest thing we could do is to change our hearts. We need to think about people in bad situations as if they were a close relative. While we shouldn't condone bad behavior, we need to love them and hope they to improve if they have made a mistake. Seeing people we care about struggle with life might be dramatic but it certainly wouldn't be entertaining. This is the type of drama that if given the choice, we instinctively would not want to watch.
What are you watching?
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