Saturday, June 5, 2021 (Day 156)
Meditation Music for the week: In the Fields of Peace: Liquid Mind (8:06) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiUnxwRh1iw
Question: What do you enjoy doing for other people?
Answer: What I enjoy doing for other people is one of my superhero taglines/seven-word life motto: “Achieving more than one ever thought possible.” It’s always a joy when I get to help others do something that they never thought possible. It’s one of those things that have been a constant in my life. When I was a kid, I always loved playing Dungeons and Dragons and being the dungeon master because I would lead the participants on an adventure, many times leading to success, every now and then leading to failure. Either way, it’s helping the group be able to complete an adventure that they thought they might not be able to complete. Same thing with neighborhood sports growing up; our biggest adversary was Michael Williams block, where we would compete against them in everything (football, stickball, softball, street hockey, etc.); I was our “neighborhood leader” and it was fun to help my friends compete against them. Although they were bigger and stronger, we were quicker and smarter. In the end, we probably split our “wars” 50/50…but it was always fun. When I started working at the University of Delaware (and continued for many years after that), I would lead a small group of cyclist/friends on bike rides, whether it’s on the weekend or on charity rides for Multiple Sclerosis. Regardless, I was the inspirational leader to get everyone together and get us to our destination. And even today, I lead a tribe of Life Design Catalyst to create work that empowers students (and others) to become their best selves in service to something bigger than themselves. And it’s growing and growing every day. It’s been this things that has guided everything that I do in my life – helping people do things they never thought they could EVER do! And it brings so much joy to my heart when it happens to others, over and over again. That’s why I don’t do what I do for the pay…I do what I do for the love. And if I can get rewarded through pay while engaging in this work, that’s even better. One thing to know about me…this is how I engage with people regardless of the setting; I’m always going to find out what you really, really, really want in life…and I want to find a way to help/support you. Surface-level conversations bore me to death; let me know what drives you and let’s talk about that!
Other Stuff
If you’ve been reading this blog post, you know that relationships is a big part of my writing these days, since I’m going through some changes in my relationships in various areas of my life. We’ll leave it at that. Here are two articles that I read this morning that’s a great way to reflect where you’re at in your relationships, from two different perspectives. Here they are:
- 10 Ways to Gain Deep Respect from Your Romantic Partner – https://medium.com/tinglymind/10-ways-to-gain-deep-respect-from-your-romantic-partner-b97d1641ee7c
- 7 Signs You’re Being Too Kind to Your Partner – https://medium.com/on-the-couch/7-signs-youre-being-too-kind-to-your-partner-9a755b0849f7
The first article is interesting to me because it’s not only about gaining respect for your partner, but it’s how to gain respect for yourself. The second article hit home for me because I decided to change my attitude to “kill” others with kindness…and then I read this article and now think to kill with kindness, within reason, and not at the expense of not being my true self. How’s that for food for thought for a Saturday?
The Dream Dean 