Tag Archives: Wisdom Quest

Everyday Stuff

2012 Wisdom Quest–Part 2

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myles-the-wiseI’ve always thought our dog, Myles, has a wise look about him. His full name is Doctor Myles Spencer, because for some reason it seems to fit him when we got him a few years ago. He’s my official mascot for this year’s Wisdom Quest.

Recently I turned off the blog and all of my social media pages, save for Twitter, so I could clear out some mental space. I’m hoping that was a wise thing to do… just turn everything off for a while. Ever wish you could pull the plug completely and never go back? 🙂

The second part of my quest for wisdom this year involves scheduling music creation sessions. I’m not there yet with a regular schedule, but I’m taking some steps in the right direction. Sometimes I like to look back before heading forward. I’m one of those guys who uses the past to provide perspective for what might be coming. Speaking of the past, I rearranged the Music page to include all the work I did on my joint album with Jason Rekker, called Distance.

I’ve been listening to these songs, and you can, too if you like. I’ll provide download links in the not-too-distant future, as well, because I’m not holding out hope of making any money off of them. Hearing my own youth and immaturity as a writer and singer in these songs is motivation for me to push myself to do better.

Following up on my first goal for the year, having a focused approach to writing, with set goals, I’ve decided on a few things:

  1. I’m going to write at least once per week, if not more, on this blog. Many times in setting goals, I go too far and set myself up for failure. If I’m going to stick with it, I need something attainable. Ever hear of S.M.A.R.T. goals?
  2. Even if it isn’t earth-shakingly profound, I’m still going to write. I mean, isn’t that part of it? How shall I improve I do not practice? It doesn’t matter if a particular blog post isn’t going to win me the Pulitzer. That will probably never happen to me, anyway! So why waste too much time thinking about it? Just write! Right?!
  3. Reading is part of writing, so I’m going to weave these two goals together. My reading goals are now set, as well, so I intend to improve as a writer by observing the writing of others, and to write about my observations in return. These goals will assist each other.

That’s it for now! In my next Wisdom Quest post, I will be writing about my 3rd goal for 2012, establish more regular reading habits.

– Chad

Everyday Stuff

2012 Wisdom Quest–Part 1

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IMG_0567Following up on my last post, Thoughts on 2012, I planned to write a post on each of my four focus areas for the year. Under a banner of seeking wisdom and understanding, I plan to write, create music, read more consistently, and accomplish professional development. In order, this post will be part 1 of 4 of my “Wisdom Quest.”

Today I received some goodies in the mail. My father-in-law and his wife were kind enough to give me Amazon gift cards for my birthday (12/01) and Christmas. Using them I purchased, among other things, a Moleskine planner, one from their exclusive Peanuts line.

The idea of reverting to a paper planner is something my friends might think is a bit odd for me. I am, after all, an I.T. guy! But I find this theme of writing continues to crop up in my life. As I considered my New Year’s goals, I initially wrote that I would have less involvement with technology. Then I realized that it wasn’t technology I needed to pull back from… it was the manner in which I consumed data.

IMG_0569Over dinner the other night, I talked with my friend, Jon, about all of the data streams in our lives. We can get data in so many easy ways. It’s in the newspaper, on the web, our computers, our phones, billboards, screens at the mall, our email, our TV’s, our tablets, and more. And within each device there are thousands of separate data streams available to us!

The problem isn’t in the availability of data, it’s in how we receive and process that information. And it got me to thinking about parenting, too. I don’t want to just impart data to my son. He can get that anywhere! Anyone (or anything) can provide data to him, but my role is to bestow understanding.

How does writing come into this big picture for me? Writing in my journal or planner, or even short pieces like this, cause me to slow down and think. If I take some time to slow down, to turn off all the data sources for a period of time, it gives me moments of reflection, a necessary break from rushing streams of information.

IMG_0566Taking a calendar and looking through it reminds me how long a month is, a week, a day, and I see how they work together to form the structure of my life. It takes my eyes away from the screen, and it becomes something in my hands to touch, to remember, to remind me of the natural flow of things. I’m very much looking forward to using my new planner to help me walk in wisdom through my life this year. Too often my life has been more about taking in data, rather that dealing with it wisely. Thankfully, God provides me wisdom when I ask:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)

Do you think writing and setting goals for your writing is a good way to slow down and add wisdom to your life?