Faithfulness
Savvy Saturdays - 6/27/20
Hello friends,
Greetings from Austin!
Have you ever had those moments in life where you wondered what would happen if you did something you’d never done before? Tattoos, dyeing hair, or getting piercings? Well, let’s just say that quarantine made me do this.
Cause I decided to try and grow out a man bun.
And honestly, it’s been quite the experience. The last time I remember growing out my hair this long was in freshman year of college, almost 4 years ago. I had just enough hair to make a tiny ponytail.
(a blurry photo of me in the dining halls… I was pretty embarrassed, as you can tell 😅)
With any hair growing experience, there is always that “awkward phase” where the hair just doesn’t look good. For me, that just meant I had an overwhelming bowl cut and a super long mullet. In fact, one of my roommates said I looked like I was from Alabama. 👀
To remove the Alabamian feel (as well as hair in the face) I decided to get some hairbands. So now, I look like a tennis player. 🎾
I would say growing out my hair helped me learn to have better hair care.
Things like patting my hair with a towel or air drying my hair to preserve hair structure integrity, and keeping hair conditioner for the allotted 1-2 mins in my hair rather than a quick scrub in water after applying to refresh the hair oils.
Additionally, learning to be faithful to hair care is a small step to learning to be faithful to my work as a whole.
6 months ago, I started a job in tech working as a software engineer ready to learn all the ins and outs of programming and become a full-time adult.
But a lot of external factors, such as a company-wide merger and a whole pandemic, as well as internal factors, such as my pride, laziness, and anxiety, cause me to work inefficiently, ineffectively, and unfaithfully. Though I am just starting out, I know I’m not putting my best foot forward.
It has made me question my work ethic as well as challenge the barriers that stop me from being a faithful worker.
Why is it hard to ask for help?
My pride convinces me that I need to prove myself instead of putting myself in a vulnerable position, while my anxiety makes me feel incapable to ask questions.
Why do I get distracted when I’m supposed to be delivering for my team?
I lack discipline, enjoy the comforts of working from home, and let my laziness keep me from being accountable for my job.
I feel like the latter part of Luke 16:10, where:
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
Work is not the only part of my life, but looking at all my other responsibilities, I recognize I need to be faithful with little so that I can be faithful with much.
I know that it’s not the end of the world, though.
Currently, as bad as I feel about where I’m at with my work, it’s never too late to be better.
As I acknowledge my failings and discern what needs to be improved, I know I can continue to work on my character, unlearn my bad habits, and rebuild that foundation of faithfulness.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.”
—Matthew 24:45-47 ESV
Anyways, thanks for tuning in with me on this week’s newsletter!
It’s been almost 6 months since I’ve started this project. 😲I’ve learned a lot about faithfulness through writing an update every week (as well as unfaithfulness in sending updates at ungodly hours 😳).
Thanks for sticking with me for this long. (shoutout to the OGs) I’ll continue to do my best to write and share the best resources I have!
With that, stay safe, keep it savvy, and I’ll see y’all in the next update 😊
Weekly Collections
Faith
Last week, I shared about a three-part Wisdom Series, exploring the purpose and meaning of the Old Testament Wisdom Literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job).
This 7 min video covers the meaningless of life - sobering truths that remove any idealism. Though Ecclesiastes reveals an inability to control what happens in life, this truth allows for a more secure foundation for wisdom to be built upon in “fearing the lord”.
Entrepreneurship
Instagram Marketing: The Ultimate Guide
This article came up as I was doing some research for friends who’re planning to start their own Instagram side projects.
If you’re interested in launching your own creative venture via Instagram, I would highly recommend utilizing the tips in this article to improve your own personal brand and improve engagement with your audience!
Productivity
Giving a Pep Talk Every Morning for a Week
If you don’t know WheezyWaiter, you’re going to enjoy these 12 minutes of positive weirdness. A quirky guy who uploads funny creative content, WheezyWaiter has been recently creating videos in trying productive habits, and it’s been pretty inspiring (especially seeing his shamelessness in how he expresses himself).
I am personally taking this on for the next week. (Hopefully, you’ll see an update out of that!)
Weekly Reflections
Mental Model
“Inversion is one of the most powerful, yet simple mental models to uncover things that we normally do not think. It helps us think outside our normal thought patterns and approach problems from a different angle that opens a world of new possibilities that we didn’t know existed.
Inversion provides an objective way to explore the problem by thinking the opposite of what we seek. This form of reverse questioning can help us inquire our own assumptions, beliefs and in turn gain a better perspective to find answers to our original question with greater clarity and understanding.”
—(Inversion: Mental Model To Uncover New Possibilities)
How to apply the mental model:
Write down your intuitive question
Now ask the opposite of that question
Go deep in understanding what can cause the opposite to be true and prevent you from achieving your goal
Ask others to contribute to your thoughts and validate your assumptions
Put together a strategy and action plan in place that avoids all causes of failure that you just learnt
Verse of the Week
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
—Psalm 73:25-26
Challenging Quote
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
—Missionary Jim Elliott
If you guys have found the newsletter to be helpful, I would love to hear from you on what’s been good, any suggestions for improvement, and anything else you’d like to see!
Please don’t be shy to let me know and thanks in advance!