Back in 2000 I left the camp I had grown up at (my parents founded the camp). I had been on staff for 20 years and was burned out. It was time for me to go.
But it wasn't until I spoke with a great coach, Dave Jewitt, until I understood more about my burn out. I had the great opportunity of meeting with Dave several times during the that fall when I was trying to figure out what was going on in my life and what I was going to do next.
In one of our meetings he shoved a blank sheet of paper in my hand and asked my to sign my name. Then he asked me, "Why was that so easy for you to do?" Well, I answered, I'd been doing it for years. I was right handed so it was easy for me to do. It flowed. I had done it so much, I could do it without thinking. It came naturally to me.
Then he asked me to put the pen in my left hand and sign my name again. Needless to say, the results weren't nearly as good. It was hard. It didn't come naturally to me. I didn't enjoy the experience at all.
That's when he told me that during my final few years at Shepherd's Fold Ranch, I had began doing too many "left handed" duties…stuff I wasn't born to do, stuff that didn't come naturally to me. I was burned out because I had the pen in my left hand. He challenged me. He said, "Mike, you've got to get the pen back in your right hand."
Man…the light bulb went on for me. I knew I had to begin to do the things that I was born to do–those things that came naturally to me. Over time my "willingness to serve" had actually become a hindrance. I was not in a good place.
What about you? Are your days filled with things that you have to slug your way through? Does your job description sometimes feel like you're signing your name with the wrong hand? Maybe with the new year, It's time to get the pen in the other hand and get on with the stuff you were born to do. The same is true of your business or organization. You've got to do the stuff you were created to do. It's easier. It's faster. It comes much more naturally. And the results are better.
With that left handed signature, you could have breezed through med school!
Just the advice I needed today, Michael! Thanks!
Good stuff for all of us. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Good post, tell us more. Marcus Buckingham suggests it takes time and effort to figure out what those “born-to-do” things are for each of us and then more time to slowly nudge our current job closer to those things. What helped you make the switch? Thanks for spurring us on to meaningful work!
Step, by the year 2000 (when I left camp) I was 41 years old and I had been working at camp for 20 years full time. By that time, I had a pretty good handle on what I loved to do and what I hated. I knew what I was good at and I knew those things I struggled with. Who knows…maybe I held on 2 or 3 years longer than I should have just because I couldn’t conceive of a scenario that would have me leaving camp. My parents had founded the camp and I had been there so long, raising my kids there. What I realize now is that I had developed a “dysfunctional” relationship with camp. My identity as a man and as a Christian were all filtered through camp. That was unhealthy. Ultimately, I just became too uncomfortable to continue. I knew something had to change.
Mostly, fear keeps us from making the move when it’s time. And, sadly, a lot of the time its not fear of failure, it’s fear of criticism. “Moving the pen” from one hand to the other takes a lot of guts. Heck, if it was easy, many, many more people would love what they’re doing. We’ve all heard it before, but it bears repeating, the riskiest thing isn’t making the change. The riskiest move of all is staying put.