Hope & Factory Settings

It's about defaults.

Hope Matters

Hey, Hope Buddies! Thanks for joining me for another dig into my life caused by reflections on what I've done wrong. 😆

Growing up, I often heard “If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.” When I tell you, I leaned into this so hard for most of my life and often to my detriment. It’s become my default, my factory setting. So, this means learning to delegate tasks has been extremely difficult for me. Not only at work, but in my WHOLE life, delegating tasks is necessary, because it prevents burnout, which is a space I have been in more times than I’d like to admit. 🙄

Here’s what I know about me and burnout. When I get there, I’m sick of everybody and everything, and things tend to get real bad. I make horrible decisions that not only affect me but everyone around me. But when we learn better, we do better. Right? Nope. Not me. Well…kind of. (I’m still practicing.)

Just this week, I delegated a task that wasn't done to my liking. After moving past my frustration, do you know what I thought? ‘Well, I’ll just do it myself.’ Let me tell you, this was not the right answer. I spent about an hour of my time trying to do the thing before I finally decided I was doing too much and wasting my time. So, instead of giving this person grace, recognizing that this might not even be their best work, and allowing them to try again. I went straight to my default status of trying to do it myself and wasted an entire hour that I certainly could’ve spent doing something else.

Hope Buddies, here’s what I’m still learning:

1. I don’t have to do everything myself.

2. Give people more than one chance. They could be having a bad day or simply need more guidance and support.

3. Let it go! There are some things I can do absolutely nothing about in that moment, and I need to use the time I’m wasting to focus on the things I can do.

4. Factory settings are for electronic devices, not people. We are designed to learn and grow.

Reflection Time

You knew it was coming. 😏 What’s your default? What’s the thing you keep going back to that doesn’t serve you nor the people you impact?

Challenge

Alright, Hope Buddies. Once you’ve identified your factory setting, what are you going to do about it? What are some steps you can take or questions you can ask yourself when you find yourself reverting?

As you’re doing the work of staying out of default status, be encouraged that this is indeed a practice. You must stay aware and take action repeatedly to recognize and avoid it.

Ditch your factory setting, and hope in awareness and growth. ☕️

Coffee Matters

Macadamia Nut

Irish Cream

What are you hoping and sipping this week?

I appreciate you taking the time to read this hopeletter about my life and coffee. Please share with a friend who could use a little hope or coffee recommendation.