Tag: time

creativity

Wonder: How to make sure you’re making time for your priorities

Christa Avampato

“We must learn to say no to some opportunities in order to say yes to our priorities.” ~Jocelyn K. Glei

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea lately. We have taken the idea of “when opportunity knocks…” to an extreme limit. We worry about what people will think, say, and do if we don’t do X, Y, and Z. It’s a lot to manage. Recently I’ve gone back to an old filter I used to use that served me well for a long time. Here it is: If I can’t say “hell, yes” to an opportunity, then it’s a “no”. I’m going to try it again and see how it goes. How do you separate opportunities from priorities?

 

creativity

Wonder: Trust the timing of your life

Christa Avampato

We have to trust the timing of our lives. Maybe you haven’t met the love of your life yet, or you haven’t quite found the right home, job, city, or hobby. Maybe things are leaving your life in greater numbers than you’d like and you’re looking around at a lot of metaphorical or physical empty space.

Please take this post as a sign that what is happening to you now must be the thing that happens in order for you to become the person you’re meant to be with the life you’re meant to have. All of this—the good, the bad, and the ugly—is driving you toward your best self. It’s helping you evolve, grow, learn, and discover. Sometimes these things are difficult and uncomfortable. Sometimes there isn’t a way to know what’s going to happen next no matter how much we plan. There will never be enough plan Bs (or Cs or Ds or Es!) to give us 100% security.

The vast majority of life is unknown and unknowable. The best we can do is trust the process, trust our ability to persevere, and trust that what matters most is the learning. That’s where all great progress begins.

creativity

Wonder: Why hope matters

Christa Avampato

Don’t you hate it when you’re having a tough time and someone’s first reaction is, “oh you’ll be fine.” My first thought is always “how the hell do you know that?” And then my second thought is, “they’re right. I am going to be fine. I’ve gotten this far, haven’t I?”

In the midst of any kind of stress, it’s easy to feel down-trodden, to feel like it’s never going to get better. But bit by bit, step by step, day by day, we can and do make things better. I know it’s not easy. I know that it sometimes feels like we’re going backward or in the completely opposite direction of where we think we want to go. And maybe you are. When that happens to me, in time I realize that’s the way I had to go—completely out of the way!—to find something or someone I needed to move forward.

Goodness knows there is plenty to be disappointed about in the world today. Flip on the news in any channel of your choice, and it’s there front and center – violence, heartbreak, and a massive amount of fear. It makes you want to tear your hair out, right? I certainly feel that way at some point every day. And then I have to remind myself that yes, I am just one person and yes, I can have an impact. I can at least shape my very tiny corner of the world through my time, energy, attention, and funds. Once I remember that, I find myself replacing those feelings of helplessness with pure hopefulness. And I’ve found that hope is where all great change begins.

creativity

Wonder: 7 years ago today my world was changed by fire

Christa Avampato

7 years ago today my apartment building caught fire and I had to start over in every sense. I feel so many emotions on this anniversary though the one now that is more prominent than others is grateful.

In the middle of that soot-covered apartment that day I had no idea what to do, where to go, or how to feel. Mostly, I was scared and filled with what-if scenarios. Had I hesitated even a minute longer, it’s unlikely that I would have made it out of the building.

I thought that day was the worst day of my life because it sent me down into a very dark and terrifying spiral—mentally, physically, and emotionally. Now with the benefit of time, I see that day as one of my best.

That day set the course I’m still following, causing me to let go of the things that don’t help me live my best life and to take chances every day. That fire caused me to lose a lot of things I loved, and it also helped to create space for me to build something brand new.

That process of rebuilding has been beautiful and terrible, and I consider all of it a great gift because it helped me to know and appreciate just how strong and resilient I am. And those are things worth knowing.

creativity

Wonder: Give yourself time

Christa Avampato

I’ve been at new job for six weeks and I’m working hard to get up-to-speed in a new industry with a product that has an aggressive timeline to launch. I’m learning so much and by the end of the week I’m spent. And I know I still have so much to learn.

I’m very likely to be tough on myself expecting myself to be 100% up-to-speed with very little runway. While that helps me in some respects it certainly harms me in others. Six weeks, especially in the summer, isn’t much time at all. I’ve got many more questions to ask and many more things to learn. And that’s okay. I’m climbing the mountain one step at a time, and I’m giving myself the chance to reflect on every view.

creativity

Wonder: Use your time to build a better world – a lesson on the D.C. metro

Christa Avampato

Yesterday as I was riding the metro home, these three reminders were directly in front of me: a woman reading the health and science section of The Washington Post, a man seated next to her was reading the book Getting Better, and then the advertisement from Virginia Hospital Center right next to me read “It’s all about getting better”. The synchronicity wasn’t lost on me. Building a better world is a mission we can all be a part of in some way, from our corner of the planet. Every day is a good day, even on a too-crowded metro train, if we can go home assured that what we did that day made the world a better place. No matter where are or what we’re doing, we can always get better.

creativity

Wonder: Don’t waste time

Christa Avampato

After Michelangelo died, a note was discovered in his art studio. It was to his apprentice and it read, “Draw, Antonio, draw, and do not waste time.” In his old and feeble state, his last bits of time were used to encourage a young talent whom he would never live to see as fully formed. He understood the ability and potential of his young apprentice, and he understood that time was his most precious resource. It’s a good reminder for all of us.

creativity

Wonder: Be a rebel. Be kind.

Christa Avampato

“If you really want to be a rebel, practice kindness.” ~Sharon Salzberg

Love in the face of hate. Smile at anger. Stubbornly seek joy, especially during times that seem so dark. Rise when someone tries to keep you down. And be determined to make your time, however much you have, meaningful. That’s what it means to be a rebel.

creativity

Wonder: Heaven help us all

Christa Avampato

As this week kicks off, in light of the violent weeks and months that have preceded it, I find myself turning to music to quiet my mind and lighten my heart. Music is a great unifier, a powerful form of expression, and a vehicle to help us figure out how we feel, what we know, and what we hope to build. This weekend as I read about the shooting in Baton Rouge, the protests sprawling across the country, and that gathering in Cleveland, I thought about Stevie Wonder and his song “Heaven Help Us All”. I revisited its lyrics and meditated on the creation of a better world in which none of them applied.

Heaven help the child who never had a home
Heaven help the girl who walks the street alone
Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall
Heaven help us all

Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day
Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl
Heaven help us all

Heaven help us all, Heaven help us all, help us all
Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we fall
Oh, yeah

Heaven help the boy who won’t reach twenty-one
Heaven help the man who gave that boy a gun
Heaven help the people with their backs against the wall
Lord, Heaven help us all, Heaven help us all

Heaven help us all, help us all
Heaven help us, Lord, here we call, help us all

Now I lay me down before I go to sleep
In a troubled world, I pray the Lord to keep
Keep hatred from the mighty and the mighty from the small
Heaven help us all oh yeah

Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all

creativity

Wonder: Fill your time with work that feels like play

Christa Avampato

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between work and play.” ~L.P. Jacks

There are so many reasons that I’m excited for my new job that starts a week from today. There’s the one phrase about the respectful and professional culture in the job description that told me this is the place for me: “This is a very egalitarian operational environment…everyone has a say.” There’s the great opportunity ahead to build products based in AI, AR, and VR technology that will help people live healthier, happier lives. There is the sense of starting from a blank canvas that will rapidly be filled in to develop a prototype product in a quick handful of months. There’s the small, experienced team that will work closely together around a single table for a single goal.

And still, above all of that, what has me most excited about this opportunity is the quote above by L.P. Jacks. The roles and companies I have most loved in my career are those that didn’t feel like work at all because what I was doing was so interesting that is took my curiosity and sense of wonder to a level that felt like play. I didn’t mind the long hours, I barely noticed the time flying by, because the work itself was so satisfying that it gave me energy rather than draining it. And I am so ready to return to that kind of work.

When people ask me what I want my career and my life to be, I have to turn to L.P. Jacks and say, “Thank you for putting my whole purpose into 15 words.”