A New Year and a Newish Me

It is not how you start, but how you finish.

Finish what you start.

You can have many starts, but the perseverance leading to the finishes is where the gold nuggets of life are found.

June thirty is the end of the fiscal year at work. All of the pieces somewhat chaotically in place on this day. This is the fifth June thirtieth I have spend in this group at this company. This year has been a year of transition in our group. In the last found months, three of the five members of our group moved out of the group for reasons that are not important to this post. We have replaced three members, however one new member just started two weeks ago, therefore this member is not trained to perform the work yet. Our other seasoned team member sadly lost his grandmother and in a turn of ultimate unfortunate luck, he also got sick and was out all week. Luckily, we had one of our former team members step in to help us for the day. I though,”Ok.We can do this. Our list isn’t too overwhelming and most of the data has already been reported.”

I thought that too soon. Two of us had catastrophic failures with connecting to one of our main applications. Involving IT on the last day of the fiscal year throws quite a wrench into the day. It was hard, but we worked through it together.

Yesterday, I received one of the greatest compliments I’ve received at work. I was given the following feedback. I want to quote it to remember that finishing even through struggle and chaos will show you something about yourself other people will notice.

Teresa, your passion for quality shines through and through. Thank you for outstanding support yesterday, given multiple hurdles. WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT YOU!!!

I don’t do things because of the recognition I will receive, but it does feel good to be seen. I do the right thing because I believe it is the right thing to do.

Basically, finishing can be seamless. All of the pieces fall into place perfectly in order sometimes.That is my favorite. Finishing can also look a little bit like falling off a mountain through a thousand tree limbs. You get bumps, bruises, and scratches, but in the end, the result is the same. The work gets finished. The finish happens. We learn that digging towards to finish line is the work. The journey means more than the end.

I watch a lot of crime and mystery shows. I’m interested in the process of getting to the truth. When solving cases especially several cases that might be linked, a detective begins to looks for patterns. Defining patterns will help define a M.O. (modus operandi). Someone’s modus operandi is defined by habits and routines. Once defined, the detective can search known criminal databases for possible matches. You don’t have to be a criminal to have a M.O. Most of us develop a standard way of living our lives.

Hang with me here. I call myself a recovering perfectionist. I am number one in an imperfect perfectionism. It’s very frustrating. I could sit here and pick myself apart, but that’s not what I’m trying to communicate. We are all perfectly imperfect. God knew me before even my mother did(Jeremiah 1:5). He knew what my struggles and passions would be. He still loved me enough to give his son for me. In my weakness, he is made strong(2 Corinthians 12:9). God truly knows us better than we know ourselves. That means we have to get to know ourselves. I love reading leadership books and learning how the mind works. A somewhat healthy lifestyle is important to me for quality and longevity of life. I love to help others, but I also believe in personal responsibility.

In the quest to develop good habits, I want to be sure the focus is not solely on me. I have purpose outside the number on the scale determined by calories in and out. I do not exist in a vacuum. Life isn’t perfect. Things that shouldn’t happen do. My focus should be on God first then people. Love God. Love people. Basically, my habits and routines should somehow elevate God and not myself.