9/20/17 Week 2

This week was very insightful. I enjoyed making a bucket list. It really got me thinking about my life so far and the life I have left to live. Some of my top bucket list items: bake a delicious cheesecake, serve a mission, and go skydiving. I also want to finish at BYUI with a bachelor's degree.
I also learned a lot from the readings and videos. The biggest take away for me is that I need to dream big and then work toward living that dream! It's ok to fail as long as I can get back up and keep trying. The following are some quotes from I reading I particularly enjoyed and found helpful.

                                              What is your calling in life. Jeffrey A. Thompson
"As an example, let me share with you the story of some people I have recently studied: zookeepers. I chose to study zookeepers because they are passionate about the work they do, even though they make little money and have few opportunities for career advancement. Learning about what “calling” means to zookeepers was eye-opening. As you might expect, zookeepers find their work very meaningful. They care for their animals as if they were their own children, and they feel great satisfaction when they can enrich their animals’ lives and maintain their health. They believe deeply in conservation and see themselves as educators of the public about species preservation. By and large, they are almost outrageously satisfied with their work.
But is every day fun for them? Hardly. When zookeepers talked about their work as a calling, they spoke not just about satisfaction but also about sacrifice—caring for sick animals in the middle of the night, doing unsavory work, foregoing a comfortable living, and the list goes on. I learned something tremendously important from my study of zookeepers. For them, the pain and burdens and sacrifice were not threats to their sense of calling—they were part of it. The work was meaningful because of the trials and burdens. That is an important lesson. We can’t expect deep meaningfulness from our calling unless we are willing to assume its burdens as well."

“Once again, I emphasize that I am in favor of working passionately. However, there is a danger that meaningful work might distract us from the weightier matters of eternal life. As one wise person noted, in the eternal scheme of things, our jobs will someday seem to us like playthings. Work is simply one stage upon which we can act out our service to God and our fellowmen.

the idea that meaning comes primarily from our work entirely misses the point, because it focuses on the self.

So perhaps the state of our hearts is as important as the tasks we do in determining whether our work is truly—and eternally—meaningful.”

“I testify that when you focus your work first and foremost on blessing others, you will become extraordinary at what you do and will find fulfillment and success much more reliably than if you spend your time at work trying to get ahead or get rich. My brothers and sisters, work to serve! Remember the words that greet you at the gateway of the university: “Enter to learn; go forth to serve.”

The story of the zookeeper rang true to me. I wrote about it last week, too! It doesn't always matter what dollar amount is attached to your career. If you are doing what you are passionate about, you will find success. Try to let others comments roll off your shoulders. 

I also gained insight about stars and stepping stones. I never thought to work backward with my goals. That is so genius! I have always enjoyed talking to people that are older than me. They are the gems in life. They have lots of wise and useful experience to share. 

For Reference

Stars, (larger goals) Stepping Stones (smaller goals), Guardrails (things in life to lean on). 

Food for Thought

1. I think Randy was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams because he put them into action. He didn't give up and pushed himself to "climb over that wall!"

2. I feel that dreaming is very important! It's where some of the best plans in the world are started! If there were no dreaming and making dreams come true we would probably live in a boring place. 

3. When I was a child I really wanted to be a teacher. I would play "school" with my siblings, friends, anyone I could get to play with me. I put that dream into action and got an associates degree in Elementary Education. I never became a public school teacher but I did teach for the Head Start program and have run a successful preschool out of my home for the past eighteen years.