One of you wrote to me over the weekend.
I’ve been mediocre in my work lately. I am not doing it on purpose but the passion is just not there anymore. Can you send me some advice or scriptures or whatever to encourage me on what may be the next step to take.
I understand the question completely. I realized last week that January always makes me feel that way, kind of confused, kind of trying to get new commitments in gear. I feel good for a couple days at the start, but then the energy of new starts runs out.
Here are some things to think about.
1. What is the measure of mediocre – the quality of your work or how you feel about it? Be objective. Your work might actually be better than you think.
2. Obedience is what you do when the emotional temperature drops and the adrenaline runs out and it’s just not fun any more. Babies are cute, diapers are not. The performance is fun, the scales are not. The affirmation for the great goals is wonderful, the self-discipline isn’t. But, as Paul wrote to some friends,
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
3. That said, focus less what you do and more on how you do. I keep noticing how often we read about patience and compassion and forgiveness and perseverance and how little we read about quotas and grades and bonuses. In the same letter, Paul says
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Anyone else have any suggestions?
300 words a day 
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Troy
Saturday at a praise service at church Colossians 1:16b was shared- “all things were created by him and for him.” ALL, BY, FOR; These words jumped out at me as how much purpose even the mundane deeds, trying relationships, unjust circumstances and seeminly insinificant yet draining duties of life really have. I needed this. Thought I would post just as an exercise for me and hopefully others can see a connection to Jons post and benifit.
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Jon Swanson
I see the connection. Both to the post and to you. Thanks.
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Rich Dixon
A lot of this seems related to thinking long-term. Immediate feelings, feedback, and results might not be the best way to gauge our efforts in relationship with a God who invites us to travel an eternal road with Him. Thinking more long-term might even out the peaks and valleys in lots of areas.
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Jon Swanson
You’ve got it Rich. Your ride happened a crank at a time, but measuring each crank wasn’t the way to see progress. Reserving evaluation til there is enough data to see trends helps. And the image of the eternal road is powerful.
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Chris Marsden
For me, Januarys are rough and feel mediocre because of how I set myself up. I put off a ton of things in December, telling myself I’ll get to it “after the holidays”. Then I pretend like January 1 is some magic fresh start. Then wonder why I feel behind.
The days (months, weeks, years) I *feel* most on top of things – most passionate – is when I take each hour and focus on what I can get done well. Otherwise a bad morning is an excuse to blow off the day as wasted, a bad Monday can blow a whole week, and a nasty todo list left over from Christmas can destroy my January (which could snowball into an excuse for having *another* crappy year).
This minute I will pursue my passions. And later I’ll do it some more. And if I have a lazy distracted hour, I’ll forgive myself and move on, not use it as an excuse to write off the whole day.
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Jon Swanson
Chris. The bad morning, bad monday trap, I thought that was just me.
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Andrew Bernhardt
January tends to bring out the mediocrity in me… it’s the post-holiday slowdown. However this year my wife had surgery to remove her coccyx (tailbone) and is recovering slowly. I took off for a week to help her, but ended up myself with an unplanned stay at the hospital for a couple days (blood pressure spikes, chest discomfort, etc.). Ever since vegetating in a boring hospital room, I’ve been finding it hard to mentally get back into the swing of things, even though I feel a lot better. I go to work with intentions of getting A, B, and C done, but by the end of the day, they’re not done. I need to get out of the lazy zone!
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Jon Swanson
Andrew – though I don’t know details, surviving this month wasn’t lazy. There’s a lot of work being done that has little to do with a list. (caring, wondering, helping).. But thanks for taking the time to write. 🙂
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David Seibold
I’ve noticed that I use the days I have been most productive or effective as the standard by which I measure all other days. Those are the days I remember the feeling of accomplishment. It’s hard to set them aside as being exceptional days when I yearn for that feeling of accomplishment each day. If I don’t measure up to that standard, I feel like I’m not performing and I’m disappointed in myself. I have to take a more realistic evaluation of my day. Did I get all my “have to do” tasks completed? Did I solve all of my unexpected problems? Did I work on a long-term project at all today even if only 15 minutes? If I get 3 yes answers, I had a good day. Many days I never finish the second question and I have work to do before I can do my daily work the next day. That’s a bad day. An exceptional day is when I answer all 3 questions yes and finish one of my long-term projects. That is a day to celebrate.
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Jon Swanson
David, I like your three questions. Especially if I make the long-term 15 minutes (a wonderful notion) one of my ‘must do’ tasks. Thanks.
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Joanna Paterson
I think your post of today – fret not, do good – with the emphasis on cultivation, is a good answer to this question, whether intended as such or no.
In relation to the January point, it feels to me as if the world has gone a bit over the top with expectations and declarations about how things are going to be in the next 12 months. Not only are those expectations a way of increasing the pressure of should (and feeling bad when it doesn’t happen) it means there’s perhaps an unhealthy emphasis on action, when so much of life and work is in re-action, dealing with, being there, the way we respond to what life and work brings to us. (Back to the preparation rather than the planning.)
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Jon Swanson
Hi Joanna. It wasn’t intentional, on my part anyway, but as I was writing Tuesday’s post I realized the connection. And wished I was that strategic.
I think you are right about the preparation part. When I look at January, I did do a lot of preparation. And was resisting the should. But old habits are deep. Thanks.
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