Don't believe it

Don’t believe what you see. Don’t believe what they tell you.

I was on a mission trip to serve in Uganda in 2015 when I gave an impromptu speech. For those that know me - I know you just laughed a little.

The 35 trapped high school students traveling with me had no escape and nowhere to go; We were halfway around the world and they could not get away from me literally and figuratively. I have given that speech many times since.

You have been told a great lie.

From your childhood you were told to stand in line. Be quiet. Do what the teacher says. ‘Because I said so’ was a reason you were to accept.

Later they said get good grades, get into the perfect college, get the perfect job, meet the perfect mate, have the perfect life. AND NEVER FEEL PAIN.

Our society will make you feel that everyone around you is experiencing a 45 degree line of upward success. They have it all figured out.

Don’t believe any of it. 

Life brings to all of us challenges. Moments of trouble and despair. Moments of loneliness where you wonder if you have been left behind and forgotten. If not you directly then the people you care about. Live long enough and try to have a life that matters - you will experience pain.

To the young people I was addressing, I was simply making the point to accept the jagged line that is life. Don’t take the up times too seriously, don’t be too discouraged by trouble. No matter what you do, your heart will be broken. You will suffer loss. People you care about will experience pain. You will grieve. And so will everyone else.

Accept that, as you look back, and if you zoom out far enough, it will be a pretty steady line of progress. No one at the end of this life will declare ‘if i could have just had more stuff; if I could have been as successful as ____’.

Some will graduate early, win prizes and recognition early, and appear by all outward circumstances to have it all figured out.  

Some of the rest of us will struggle to get started, will be tentative, and will fail a few times. Maybe we will put ourselves through college, graduate late, and face challenge after challenge even as we get started. 

Both are on the way to a successful life if they stick with it. If you are lucky, you will surround yourself with amazing people that will enhance and encourage you. 

And so remember, the people you interact with today may be dealing with any kind of unimaginable problem. They may be putting a brave face on pain, struggling in some element of their life, or facing trials professionally.

At Method360, Inc. we work on this every single day. We try to imagine what you might be thinking about our interaction. We try to read your tone and your body language. We try not to take it too personally if you are in a bad place. We try to remember that feelings matter and that we don’t win by throwing data at you. We try to make what we are saying easy to understand from your POV. We try to remember you are more than your role at work.

It is a lot more work and it is worth all the effort. I will let you be the judge.

For anyone still reading - one last thing.

You can seek out challenges; seek out people in pain. Seek out people who cannot pay you back. For me, I have searched for myself in Uganda as I serve others. No one there can pay me back. When you do, you will find purpose. Our society tells you to seek comfort. Yet many of the most impactful moments of my life were in an environment of desperate want and need. Lack brings clarity.

Tl;dr 

• Life will have times of ups and downs, anyone that says different is selling you something.

• Everyone you come into contact with today is somewhere in that journey.

mXa 3PRO

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