Dress up, show up
Those that know me well know that one of my favorite questions is "What if...?" It just gets my already-active imagination going, but even more so. But I think that whole concept is probably the topic of another posting.
Today, I was thinking along the "what if" path, but it had to do with the concept of "work". Or perhaps, vocation.
I've been actually making a conscious effort to write every day. It's therapeutic for me. At several points in my life, I've had people ... friends, counselors, my wife ... suggest that I "journal". And I have consistently balked at that idea. I don't "need" to "journal". I don't need to keep a laundry list of everything I've done or thought or whatever. Besides, I am not a huge fan of my own handwriting, and at this stage of my life, if I write too much, my hand starts to cramp and hurt. Now before my mother jumps in with "See? I told you all those years of breaking bricks would catch up to you," let me just point out that my mother was NOT right in her predictions. Well, ok, maybe in just THIS one. I have banged that right hand up quite a bit over the past 35+ years. Hence, a touch of arthritis, making writing with pen and paper a tad uncomfortable.
But it doesn't seem to have affected my piano playing a great deal. Nor my ability to type. But let's be very clear....this writing I'm doing is NOT "journaling". Because I don't "need" to "journal". Are we clear on that?
Good.
Yeah, I know..."denial" is not just a river in Egypt.
Back to my subject. As I mentioned (before I got sidetracked by myself getting sidetracked), I've been making a conscious effort to write every day. so as I was getting ready to write this morning, I just couldn't come up with a "topic". Everything I thought of wasn't "good enough", it wasn't sage, it wasn't wise, it wasn't inspiring, it wasn't thought-provoking. I actually caught myself shaking my head at one point and saying to the cat, "Bad idea...nobody would want to read that." I seriously thought about "skipping" today. I mean, nobody else besides me had any idea I was trying to write every day so I could establish the habit. So I wouldn't be "letting anyone down" if I simply didn't write today. Except me. And I'm worth the effort.
But WHAT to write about? I mean, it has to be...well, at least one of those adjectives I tossed out earlier. But, I'm just not "feeling" it today.
And that's when it hit me. What if? What if a professional writer decided one morning that he/she just wasn't "feeling it", and decided not to do their job? My uncle, John Voorhees, was a professional writer. For decades, he was a columnist for newspapers in Seattle. I wonder how that conversation would have gone with his editor if he simply called up on a day his column was due and said, "Sorry dude...I'm just not feeling it today. I watched all the shows, saw all the plays, they all sucked. That's my column." Probably wouldn't have had the long-running column that he did, nor would he have become the well-known newspaper writer that he was.
My dad. 35+ years in a factory. I can pretty much guarantee there were days when he "just wasn't feeling it". But he went to work, he did his job. Why? Because the reward (i.e., providing for his family) was worth whatever inconvenience he would go through.
In one of my most recent jobs, I supervised some younger folks. I recall a conversation with one of them on a particular day when this individual's performance was significantly less than lackluster. I asked what was going on. His response was, "I don't know. I'm just not feeling it today." Seriously? I'm not paying to "feel it", I'm paying you to show up and do your job. At least, that's what went through my head.
When our daughter was getting ready to explore colleges, we took her to Nashville for a music writer's workshop. It was a glimpse into the music industry. Two or three days of workshops on music writing, how to get your music noticed, how to get an agent, a publisher, etc. Literally everything about the music industry from soup to nuts. To say we were overwhelmed would be an understatement. But every single day, my wife, my daughter and I would dress up, go to the workshops, sit in the front row, take good notes, ask probing questions, and absorb everything we could. One of the things I remember was when a panelist told us not to worry too much about "getting noticed" by the industry. He suggested that we simply "start a fire" wherever we were. Eventually, somebody would "see the smoke" and come check it out.
At the end of the three days, as we were getting ready to leave, one of the people involved made a point of coming up to us and saying, "You know, I couldn't help but notice. You folks dress up and show up, every single day. I don't know where you are on your journey, but you keep doing that, and you'll get wherever it is you're going."
Those two things have stuck with me to this day. Dress Up and Show Up. I don't have to "feel" it, I just have to Dress Up and Show Up. Build a fire wherever I am, and if there's enough smoke, somebody will come and check out.
So today, I don't have a great tome to publish. I don't know if I have inspiration words, or witticisms for anyone. But I do know I'm going to Dress Up and Show Up.
My two cents worth today.
Today, I was thinking along the "what if" path, but it had to do with the concept of "work". Or perhaps, vocation.
I've been actually making a conscious effort to write every day. It's therapeutic for me. At several points in my life, I've had people ... friends, counselors, my wife ... suggest that I "journal". And I have consistently balked at that idea. I don't "need" to "journal". I don't need to keep a laundry list of everything I've done or thought or whatever. Besides, I am not a huge fan of my own handwriting, and at this stage of my life, if I write too much, my hand starts to cramp and hurt. Now before my mother jumps in with "See? I told you all those years of breaking bricks would catch up to you," let me just point out that my mother was NOT right in her predictions. Well, ok, maybe in just THIS one. I have banged that right hand up quite a bit over the past 35+ years. Hence, a touch of arthritis, making writing with pen and paper a tad uncomfortable.
But it doesn't seem to have affected my piano playing a great deal. Nor my ability to type. But let's be very clear....this writing I'm doing is NOT "journaling". Because I don't "need" to "journal". Are we clear on that?
Good.
Yeah, I know..."denial" is not just a river in Egypt.
Back to my subject. As I mentioned (before I got sidetracked by myself getting sidetracked), I've been making a conscious effort to write every day. so as I was getting ready to write this morning, I just couldn't come up with a "topic". Everything I thought of wasn't "good enough", it wasn't sage, it wasn't wise, it wasn't inspiring, it wasn't thought-provoking. I actually caught myself shaking my head at one point and saying to the cat, "Bad idea...nobody would want to read that." I seriously thought about "skipping" today. I mean, nobody else besides me had any idea I was trying to write every day so I could establish the habit. So I wouldn't be "letting anyone down" if I simply didn't write today. Except me. And I'm worth the effort.
But WHAT to write about? I mean, it has to be...well, at least one of those adjectives I tossed out earlier. But, I'm just not "feeling" it today.
And that's when it hit me. What if? What if a professional writer decided one morning that he/she just wasn't "feeling it", and decided not to do their job? My uncle, John Voorhees, was a professional writer. For decades, he was a columnist for newspapers in Seattle. I wonder how that conversation would have gone with his editor if he simply called up on a day his column was due and said, "Sorry dude...I'm just not feeling it today. I watched all the shows, saw all the plays, they all sucked. That's my column." Probably wouldn't have had the long-running column that he did, nor would he have become the well-known newspaper writer that he was.
My dad. 35+ years in a factory. I can pretty much guarantee there were days when he "just wasn't feeling it". But he went to work, he did his job. Why? Because the reward (i.e., providing for his family) was worth whatever inconvenience he would go through.
In one of my most recent jobs, I supervised some younger folks. I recall a conversation with one of them on a particular day when this individual's performance was significantly less than lackluster. I asked what was going on. His response was, "I don't know. I'm just not feeling it today." Seriously? I'm not paying to "feel it", I'm paying you to show up and do your job. At least, that's what went through my head.
When our daughter was getting ready to explore colleges, we took her to Nashville for a music writer's workshop. It was a glimpse into the music industry. Two or three days of workshops on music writing, how to get your music noticed, how to get an agent, a publisher, etc. Literally everything about the music industry from soup to nuts. To say we were overwhelmed would be an understatement. But every single day, my wife, my daughter and I would dress up, go to the workshops, sit in the front row, take good notes, ask probing questions, and absorb everything we could. One of the things I remember was when a panelist told us not to worry too much about "getting noticed" by the industry. He suggested that we simply "start a fire" wherever we were. Eventually, somebody would "see the smoke" and come check it out.
At the end of the three days, as we were getting ready to leave, one of the people involved made a point of coming up to us and saying, "You know, I couldn't help but notice. You folks dress up and show up, every single day. I don't know where you are on your journey, but you keep doing that, and you'll get wherever it is you're going."
Those two things have stuck with me to this day. Dress Up and Show Up. I don't have to "feel" it, I just have to Dress Up and Show Up. Build a fire wherever I am, and if there's enough smoke, somebody will come and check out.
So today, I don't have a great tome to publish. I don't know if I have inspiration words, or witticisms for anyone. But I do know I'm going to Dress Up and Show Up.
My two cents worth today.
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