VIRTUE OF THE WEEK: LOVE (WHAT YOU DO)
What is your morning routine? Do you even have a morning routine? What is the first impulse your mind has when you wake up in the morning? Do you wake up before dawn or right before noon? Do you have goals for your day or do you go with flow?
The right answer to all of these questions? There is no right answer, however, there is a catch. There are plenty of self help books and motivational messages that will tell you an individual needs that 8 hour sleep, that morning coffee with vitamins and minerals, to wake up at 5 o’clock before anyone else, to be the first in and the last one out. While I agree many of these things are essential, and I have them implemented in my own life; I also understand these “cheat codes for success” aren’t always universal.
What is universal? Love. I’m not necessarily speaking about the traditional concept of love that involves a romance and affection, that love is hopefully a given. The love I’m speaking about is both a feeling and an action, developed by being in love with commitment and the process towards results.
Mark Twain once uttered “The law of work seems unfair, but nothing can change it; the more enjoyment you get out of your work, the more riches you will make”.
While Twain is mainly referencing money, I believe he may of intentionally shared a type of allegory that expands farther and deeper than monetary wealth. Ultimately, we are all underpaid, as the true value of the work we put in isn’t all accounted for in our paychecks. This is where love matters, as love can accrue as a form of currency that makes up for the taxation you’ll never see come back to your bank account. The late legend Kobe Bryant in a 2018 interview shared on Lewis Howes’ “School of Greatness” what love meant to him personally. While Kobe recognized that traditional love can equate to happiness, he gives love the analogy of a storm. He said “Things are never perfect, but through love you can continue to persevere (and weather the storm)..”
This is why I tell people that I personally do not believe there is a “love at first sight”. For a rare few, loving is a talent. It is rooted in their DNA to be always be graceful and put others before him in unconditional circumstances. For the majority of people, I would argue that love is a skill and that with any skill you must invest time and energy into the craft if you desire to see improvement. Love is not about merely doing nor feeling; because if you don’t couple them both, love fails.
Starting today, considering refining your skills in love by being committed to the process of improvement. Wake up at whatever hour, but when it’s time to begin your work you ought to be committed to seeing results fueled by your passion. If that is not the case in your career, then you do not love what you do and you are shorting yourself. When at home with your significant other or children, are you taking the time to spend quality moments with them? Or instead, you may be too distracted by things out of your control, if so you are again shorting your family or friends. Commit and hold investment in improving their day.
The big one, are you committed to loving yourself? No matter how many hours you are awake today or the amount activities you indulge in, be committed to the process and results that come with it. Do not give yourself an out, do not pull out too early on your investment, and do not fold when things get tough. Have goals or go with the flow, just be committed.
Love what you do, and love will find you.