For those of you that know me, I’m a bit odd. And candid.
Anyway, I tend to be a gigantic mash-up of Type-A and Type-B personalities. As an artist and designer I’m always thinking creatively and brainstorming all over the wall. To unwind, I can just sit down in front of the TV and relax for hours on end. It’s blissful, really. However, the OCD-esque part of me loves to structure all that fun away. And it enjoys every part of it. There are lists involved. And Post-Its. I can’t even type a text message without using proper grammar and capitalization. You would think this dichotomy would have me rocking back and forth in the corner sucking my thumb, but I actually do have a relatively normal life enjoying the limitless ideas and creativity that comes with being a designer and the organized structure that helps reign them in.
However, somewhere along the way I’ve lost my discipline as a human being. I’m not knocking over liquor stores or randomly blurting out “Potato” at inappropriate times during staff meetings. I’m talking more about the disciplines of life that build us into men and women of integrity and character.
Long story short, a while back I realized I wasn’t particularly proud of how I was shaping up. Like I said, you aren’t going to find my mug shot at the post office (hopefully) or tattoos across my arm proclaiming how much I love my mom ; I just didn’t feel like I was living up to the standards I profess. About a month or two ago, I stumbled across this great TV show on Hulu called 30 Days (sadly, it has been cancelled). Many of you may know the shows creator and often-times guinea pig, Morgan Spurlock. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Spurlock is the guy who took it upon himself to document the side-effects of an all-McDonald’s diet in the documentary Super-Size Me. Great film; scared me out of ever breathing in another Quarter Pounder. Ugh.
Anyway, the premise of the 30 Days was to put people (sometimes Spurlock himself) into situations for thirty days at a time that tested their pre-conceived notions about a given topic. Many of them were a bit controversial such as a conservative straight man living with a gay man in San Francisco. Others gave incredible insights into the human condition such as living on minimum wage for thirty days. All of them were interesting to see how people responded and to get a look at two sides of the story. Minor disclaimer: it was reality TV produced for FX; I’m sure things were edited to a certain extent. But the premise was intriguing and showcased some interesting situations and dialogues.
This got me thinking, “What if I worked on areas of my life for thirty days at a time?”. People set New Year’s resolutions all the time, but a year is such a long way off you feel defeated before you begin. Thirty days is very manageable. Plus it allowed me to dive in head first and really push myself because I only have thirty days. Hopefully, after thirty days some good disciplines and habits will begin to form and I will continue what I’ve started beyond the original thirty days.
Thus, I am embarking on challenging areas of my life and building in discipline thirty days at a time to become a man of stronger integrity and character. The idea (which I credit to Morgan Spurlock and his production team) keeps the artist in me happy while Mr. Type-A is doing very structured cartwheels at the organization of the whole thing. Above all else, it challenges me to live a life that honors Christ and blesses my wife.
So, for the next thirty days at a time, check back for updates on new challenges and disciplines I am embarking on and my thoughts regarding them.