“Whenever you are stressed, it is because whatever is happening at that moment is what you don’t want to be happening.”
Oprah Winfrey
A critical step in minimizing your own stress is to accept your present moment.
Rhymes with Dress
Working
From Nat
Employment
My 15-year-old daughter just got a job working at her sister’s place of employment: a Thai restaurant. She started to bus tables, learn the computer system, give patrons water and even take their orders and bring their food by the time she had 8 hours of work under her belt.
I was sure she would come home and say, “No thanks. I hated it.” It’s not easy to be on your feet for a few dollars. She’s a straight A student and focuses on her violin playing. She does not do menial chores at home proactively. But she’s seen her sister make money and be able to purchase whatever she wants at Target or eat out on occasion.
She came home after working 6 hours yesterday. She served tables alongside her older sister. Her feet hurt, but she had a huge smile on her face and showed me the $36 in tips she made.
Later, exhausted, she said:
“I like working, it feels good to make your own money.”
The Hustle
Dawn Delight
It’s pre-sunset and I navigate the dark to the kitchen,
boil water, grind beans and allow the two to fuse in the French press
Open the drawing tablet and book – smile
choose a page arbitrarily and put pencil to paper
Apps Used to Stand for Appetizers
Apps have become so ubiquitous that we joke, “There’s an app for that.”
And yes, technology can help you achieve your goals and it can entertain you, but when it comes to creating art or work or works of art, there is no substitute for the consistent effort and focus on it.
Sitting under a tree, pondering nature all around you…that is how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity. So legend has it.
Objective and careful observation of nature, our pets, our loved ones is how we will help society. Sustained effort for the greater good is what will be effective. Apps and other technology alone won’t do it.
Are You Chicken Little or the Road Runner?
When I worked at a startup company years ago and things got stressful, my supervisor would wail, “We’re just set up to fail!” She cried real tears once, when it looked like we were going to miss delivering our McDonald’s Kids’ Meal prize on time.
The deadlines were tight and stringent. “We’re set up to fail!”
There was a bug in the system. “We’re set up to fail!”
The art department misunderstood the engineering department. “We’re set up to fail!”
In actuality, she meant, “I’m afraid we’re going to fail!”
In the end, the entire startup did fail. But our department never did, we simply met our goals with a lot of stress. The constant cry of the “sky is falling” unnerved the team. Projects that could have been accomplished with fun and enjoyment were, instead, completed in solemn urgency.
Isn’t this what many people do at work and life? Aren’t a lot of people motivated by fear? Fear of failure, fear of losing money, fear of losing face.
People can be motivated by fun and awe and still get it done.
