Uncovering Purpose Beneath Two Coats of Paint
My son just bought a house. It’s a big step on his journey to adulthood. It also means something for me: painting. Ugh. Nowhere on my list of things to do on a summer weekend is painting, washing off paint, and painting again. Yet I did it. And why I did it and what it meant reminded me of leadership, learning, and life—and purpose. A few reflections from the weekend:
Paint will drip. Everywhere. You can’t stop it but you can choose how to respond when it does.
I can learn new things, like how to shorten a door. Although I never had the need for the skill nor will I likely ever use it again, it was thrilling just the same.
Accomplishing something with someone is more rewarding than doing it yourself.
If it’s not your house, you should only make suggestions not demands.
It takes more time to tape, patch, measure, and sand than to paint. But the preparation yields success.
Everyone should own paint clothes because it gets messy.
Nobody has all the tools so sometimes you have to improvise.
Doing something for someone, for no other reason than they appreciate it, is awesome.
What you choose to do (not just on summer weekends) reveals who you are and what you value.
That last one is particularly notable. I often encounter people seeking to create purpose; find meaning. There’s no trick, really. We don’t create purpose, we find it—really (re)discover it. We live our purpose every day, but it’s frequently concealed by the day’s clutter. Looking for your purpose? Next time you’re doing something hard or stressful that lacks an obvious tangible reward, ask yourself, “Why?” Maybe then you’ll glimpse the purpose you seek. Yep, it’s there. Maybe just covered in light blue paint.
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