Laziness can become a very comfortable norm if you let it.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been in such a place for a while now and it\u2019s not a great place to be.<\/p>\n
I remember back a few years ago when I started blogging.\u00a0 I had recently lost my big-time engineering job; I was cash rich and had abundant free time.\u00a0 I was motivated to make the most of it.\u00a0 I was going to write the great American novel. I was going to travel the world. \u00a0I was going to learn a foreign language or two.\u00a0 Alas, just as I was heading towards these goals, a start-up opportunity came up that seemed OK, but really wasn\u2019t what my goals were all about.\u00a0 I probably shouldn\u2019t have taken the job (looking back, definitely not!) because it had nothing to do with my goals.\u00a0 But even with the start-up job, I was motivated to achieve something special\u2026 at the expense of the things I actually wanted to do.\u00a0 I loved the people I was with and there was the very real possibility that we would all get rich.\u00a0 When that job crumbled, I assessed what I\u2019d like to do next, since now I needed money (having sunk a lot of it into that start-up).\u00a0 I prayed about it, and did some personal inventory tests designed to show me my skill-set.\u00a0 Much to my surprise, the results didn\u2019t show me that I should be an engineer, but a writer, teacher or preacher.\u00a0 I soon crossed preacher off the list because I didn\u2019t have the passion required to do the job excellently.\u00a0 I crossed writer off the list because, while I like writing, I couldn\u2019t see myself doing it all the time.\u00a0 This left teacher.\u00a0 This was God\u2019s divine direction for my life.\u00a0 As soon as that decision was made, I was relentless in pursuing a teaching credential.\u00a0 I was again motivated.\u00a0 I got through the credential program quickly and\u2026 didn\u2019t immediately land a job.\u00a0 The timing wasn\u2019t right to get a full-time job for this school year so, I languished for the better part of the school year as a substitute teacher.\u00a0 I do not have any passion for substituting (though long-term is awesome), so I now wait for that perfect job that I know God has for me\u2026 and I\u2019m getting tired of waiting.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also been sick a lot recently \u2013 lots of kids with germs.\u00a0 All of this has gotten me out of any motivation I once had and I\u2019ve become a regular couch potato who dreams of teaching full-time and going to exotic places during summer break, but is currently glued to a couch.\u00a0 Maybe, once I get a job and get settled into my field, I\u2019ll start writing again and I\u2019ll learn some foreign languages.\u00a0 You see, my passions haven\u2019t changed, but I\u2019ve become too lazy to actually pursue them, I only dream about them.\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of sad, and I don\u2019t like what has happened to me.\u00a0 I could be doing so much more with my life right now!\u00a0 I\u2019m not too old, I probably have 20 more working years left, but 20 years isn\u2019t an unlimited amount of time to accomplish some of my life goals.\u00a0 I\u2019ve already blown 10 years thinking about writing but not actually getting past a few chapters in any of the writing projects I\u2019ve started.\u00a0 I have done some travel, but not as much as I would like to.\u00a0 I\u2019ve forgotten any foreign language skills I once had because I don\u2019t go overseas much and I haven\u2019t keep the practice up.<\/p>\n
So, God issued a wake-up call for me today.\u00a0 He said that I need to focus, prioritize, and get off my butt.\u00a0 I need to this anyway, since I have to take an \u201cEnglish Language Arts Teaching Methods\u201d class in order to get my English credential (so yeah, next month I\u2019m back in college), but I should also work towards making the things happen that will make me the happiest: time with God, time with family, teaching, writing and traveling (foreign languages will come naturally as a result of doing these things).\u00a0 Good news is that my life isn\u2019t a total loss at this point: I\u2019m back with God; I\u2019ve never left my family; I\u2019m working on a Turkey & Greece trip; I\u2019m continually working towards getting a full-time teaching gig.\u00a0 I now need to add exercising and writing every day.\u00a0 What I really need to wake up every day with purpose, something I have not been doing.\u00a0 I need to become a living example of how to live life to the fullest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Laziness can become a very comfortable norm if you let it.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been in such a place for a while now and it\u2019s not a great place to be. I remember back a few years ago when I started blogging.\u00a0 … Continue reading