A Challenge to Yourself
My challenge to You, the reader, is to do something you haven’t done in awhile that makes you happy. It could be going for a walk/hike, picking up a book, meditating for 10 minutes, playing an instrument…anything! My answer to this challenge is to blog more often and more deeply about my life.
When I first started to think about blogging, I was extremely excited. Yes! The chance for the world to hear my opinion and ideas! It was great! But then I started to write, and I found some things easier to write about than others. Being a (soon to be) software engineer, I always supposed that my posts and presentations would revolve around technology, programing, and the latest gadget fad that every should try.
So, I wrote a couple technical posts for my beginner friends who were just starting to pick up coding and using the command line. But then I hit a dead spot…I would write ~300 words in a post, and stop, because I either felt like it was too technical, or not technical enough. It just felt weird to me. I love tech and what I do as a career, but it doesn’t define me. I want to share stories and experiences about the type of person that I am, and what I wrestle with in life.
I’ve tried this approach before. I’ve written about my past experiences before, and it’s felt a lot more fluid and natural. I wrote about my experiences interviewing with Microsoft, Bloomberg, and other large tech companies…I didn’t write these through the eyes of a professional, but through the eyes of a small town boy who just saw his view of the world grow by a few magnitudes almost overnight. I wrote about what it meant to me to have some incredible experiences and opportunities so early on in my life. For the first time I, through these posts, I had people telling me that I caused them to think differently or to look at the world in a more special way. That feeling of making a difference was and still is incredible. Even when it’s just through my writing.
There’s books on everything these days. You name a topic, there’s a book about it. There’s a special thing about a piece of writing though if it makes you feel more complete. I just finished reading a book by Bob Goff, who is an ordinary man who has lived an incredible life. His book, Love Does, is his life account that led him to some amazing opportunities and experiences, such as sailing across the Pacific with friends, becoming a civil rights lawyer who freed hundreds of children from inhuman prisons, accepting the position of Honorable Consul of Uganda, and so much more. I highly recommend the book to anyone who’s looking to get more out of life. I feel like I connect with Bob Goff. I see his drive and passion in my own personality and determination. I want to make the world a better place, one step at a time. I want to devote my writing, my career, and every part of me to living my best life and helping others do the same.
I want to go barefoot because it’s holy ground; I want to be running because time is short and none of us has as much runway as we think we do; and I want it to be a fight because that’s where we can make a difference. That’s what love does.
— Bob Goff in Love Does
Life is short, and I don’t want to waste time being bored, not being fulfilled, or feeling like I could make a bigger impact. My impact on the world begins when I take the first step. This applies to your impact as well. Even if its a little step, any step is a positive move in the right direction. This post for me is that step. Its a step that I promise myself to use my faith, my life, and my opportunities to give back everything I can to help others live a full, happy, and, as Bob Goff calls it, ‘whimsical’ life.
I’m going to start blogging about life. The pure, true, incredible life that each of us has been given the chance to experience. Maybe one day I’ll turn these collections into a book, but for now I hope you follow along and enjoying what will hopefully be weekly posts, because I wholeheartedly enjoy writing them.
So then, again, my challenge to you for this week is to do something you haven’t done in awhile that makes you happy. Take that first step in leaving an impact, by making a change in yourself. And as always, God Bless.
