Had the first man not given up too soon, he would be rich beyond his wildest dreams.

A man was strolling through his land and found a nugget of gold on the ground. Excitedly, he grabbed a shovel and began digging around. He dug dozens of pits. He dug wide and he dug deep. But instead of more gold, he only uncovered more dirt.

Fatigued and disgusted, he sold his hole-ridden property to someone else. 

The new owner took a closer look at one of the holes. Out of curiosity, he dug a few inches further down and discovered what turned out to be a rich vein of gold. Had the first man not given up too soon, he would be rich beyond his wildest dreams. 

Too often we struggle with problems and pressures and, like that disgusted owner, we give up. But we may miss out the “gold” that comes with sticking it out. 

I am not saying that there are no circumstances under which we quit. I am saying that we think carefully before we do. Don’t sacrifice what may be a good place right now in favor of the temporary relief of surrender.

​If today you want to raise the white flag, don’t. Hang in there.
Persevere. Keep the faith. You’ll be glad you did.

Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

Boredom happens when we lose our appetite for things that used to energize us such as a job or a relationship. Strangely, we can be bored even while we are busy. 

​Overcoming boredom is more of a process, a journey, an inner transformation. It is a golden opportunity to find out what we really value.  ​

​Most people suppose that the opposite of boredom is excitement. Personally, I have discovered that the opposite of boredom is meaning. There are people who don’t mind difficulties and drudgery as long as they know that they are making a difference in the world. 

Imagine two bakers. One complains, “I do the same thing day in and day out. Buying yeast, kneading dough, operating this oven. What’s the point of it all?” 

The other relishes each working day and says, “I get to feed the world. I get to help a child create memories of the yummy sandwich only his mom can make. I get to encourage family members to bond around a good breakfast.” 

The second baker sees meaning beyond the physical stuff of yeast, dough and oven. Because of that, he is hardly bored.

You may be doing something repetitious, perhaps even menial. But look for meaning in whatever you do. Happiness is a by-product of a meaningful life. Pursue happiness and it will elude you.

But pursue meaning and, in due time, boredom will give way to joy!

It is impossible to lead a perfect life. But it is never too late to lead an excellent one.

I remember hitching a ride with a friend and he accidentally bumped his car against a post. As he drove on, this time with a pronounced bump on his fender, he muttered “I’m so ashamed of myself.”

Why are some people quick to forgive others but they just can’t forgive themselves? The root cause is that we are clinging to an idealized image of ourselves. In the case of my friend, he wanted to be a flawless driver, with nary a scratch on the paint job. When his car “kissed” that post, it wasn’t just the fender which suffered a dent that day.

Are you still wincing over a bum decision you made ages ago? 

Perhaps the perfectionist image you are harboring (and you may not even know it) is one where you are so smart that you will always make the right choices. Then when the opposite happened, that image taunts you “How can you be so stupid? You should have known better!”

And you, poor you, moan “Yeah, yeah! Guilty!”

So what’s the solution? Loosen up on that perfectionism. Instead, pursue excellence. 

Let us admit that we will inevitably do something that we will later wish we didn’t. Then, armed with lessons from the past, we will make wiser decisions and do more of the right deeds. 
It is impossible to lead a perfect life. But it is never too late to lead an excellent one.

In fact, it is never too late for a friend to become a careful yet happy driver.

Photo by Handy Wicaksono on Unsplash