bcg blog

The Race to Saturday

My alarm pulls me from my slumber. I jump out of bed, eager to see what the week holds. Mondays offer opportunities. I look forward to the unknowns of the week ahead. Uncomfortable, yet exciting, with something to discover. I know I’m going to struggle and stretch myself. Those first few years of teaching are as exciting as they are scary.

My alarm drags me from my temporary coma. I slink out of bed, creeping into another week. Mondays are the beginning of the end. All I see is the monotonous repetition of the daily grind - same day, different week. I’m trapped in a recurring cycle of senseless routines that add value to no one. The next few years of teaching are merely a race to the weekend. 

My alarm jolts me from my sleep. I spring out of bed, ready to attack the week ahead. Mondays are another day to make a difference. Each of those precious days holds its own opportunity to serve and impact the people around me. I’m present and intentional, giving and grateful. The rest of my years teaching, and doing anything else I choose, are simply a platform for me to live out my purpose. It’s a ministry, not a job.

What a work-life cycle! 
Grateful to not be counted among the lucky few who get stuck in that dreadful middle stage.

Why Should We Care?
How many people do you know who spend the week working their job so they can do what really matters to them on the weekends? They repeatedly sacrifice the one hundred-twenty weekly hours for the measly forty-eight the weekend offers. Living forty percent of life doesn’t sound like that great of a proposition to me.

Too many miss out on the meaning and direction an overriding purpose can provide. Most of us begin exploring our purpose out of desperation, when we realize everything we’ve done and accomplished is basically useless. In this moment we realize we know everything about life except how to live it. 

Make no mistake, it is a strong purpose that offers us full access to those one hundred-twenty weekday hours. Without it we remain prisoners to the weekend. With too small or vague of a purpose we end up being driven by someone else’s mission. We need nothing more than something to bring life together and provide focus for our daily actions.

Our purpose is a matter of the soul, not the mind, and a confused soul offers no guidance. When everything goes sideways only what’s in the soul will count. When the monotony and trivial headaches of worklife surface, the soul is the only thing that can find meaningful purpose on a daily basis.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
All days are meant to be lived. All jobs are meant to matter. All roles are meant to impact. With the right purpose we can maximize all aspects of our life, every day. Here are a few questions to consider in identifying just the right purpose:

• Which of your strengths creates the most meaningful impact when you share it with others? 
  
  • We’re so good at magnifying our weaknesses, but in order to identify our most meaningful purpose we need to capitalize on our strengths. Self-awareness is required, as well as the humility to acknowledge our impact on others.
    

• When have you thought 'someone should do something about this' and felt personally called to be that someone?
  
  • It could’ve happened in elementary school on the playground or maybe something went down at lunch during your first few years of work. We are all the collection of our life experiences. Those experiences create beliefs that drive our mindset and accompanying actions. 
    

• When you're 90, looking back at your life, what impact would make you think, 'Yes, that's exactly what I was here to do'?
  
  • Reverse-engineering may be one of the best life hacks out there. Answer this question then set out to do that while applying it to all aspects of your life..
    

Weekends are great. But, when we’re living in line with our purpose, so are weekdays. All offer the same opportunity when viewed through the proper lens.

Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here!