Help in Humility
Savvy Saturdays - 10/24/20
Hello friends,
Greetings from Austin!👋
A couple of weeks ago, I missed a work deadline on Friday.
It was probably the most stressful week, as I found myself trying to learn some new programming systems and needing to research company-specific work that I couldn’t easily Google.
I usually rely on Google for answers through Stack Overflow or Medium articles with snippets of code and expert explanations of tools from programmers in Russia or China. But this time, I couldn’t Google the answer, because it wasn’t Googleable. (is that even a word?)
I found myself forced to do one of the things I disliked most: asking for help.
When it comes to sending a message to ask for help, I struggle with formulating the right words to ask a question. Overanalysis, overthinking, and obsession over the intention of what I send stops me from moving past my discomfort of sending the question.
Getting to the point. Cutting to the chase. Biting the bullet.
All these phrases are things that I need to do.
But digging deeper, I noticed an underlying heart issue - a deep pride of being in control. Rather than being real and imperfect, I chose to avoid looking incompetent and sacrificed the ability to move forward and get the job done.
The issue is that pride is never helpful.
No one is successful in the long run when they are not willing to admit they don’t know or are wrong. Being prideful is a detrimental behavior that causes people to plateau.
In fact, in the Bible, God always brings down the prideful, in comparison to how He treats the humble:
“For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.”
- Psalm 138:6“One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”
- Proverbs 29:23“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Matthew 23:12
And my pride brought the downfall of not getting my work done in time.
If I had taken ownership of my flaws and asked for help earlier I would’ve probably solved the problem days before the deadline.
Instead, I found myself unable to uphold my stewardship and was humbled.
I completed the work by the following week, and learned that the quicker I am to humble myself, the better I am to steward well the things I’m given and to ultimately glorify God with my work.
Thanks for checking in on this week’s update. One thing I noticed was that sending out this newsletter earlier in the morning actually increase reading viewership by 10%! 😲 I guess I gotta continue to be more disciplined and finish early 🤔
The past Saturday, I ended up doing a hackathon, and it was a humbling experience.
I hope to write a post about it in the future, but TLDR, I felt a lot of expectations weren’t met during the hackathon, yet God was good through it all.
Though I didn’t get to code and I had to learn to trust my teammates with UX design as well as interviewing, I got to hear inspiring testimonies of missionaries reaching out to Muslims, we ended up creating a project that had impacted their work, and we ended up winning one of the categories at the hackathon without writing a single line of code. 😳
When I heard that we got picked, I was so humbled that I sat down and praised God because it was all His glory. 😭 If you want to view our project, you can see it on devpost.
I was greatly blessed by how the hackathon was held, and it was a joy to see how much it had grown since I had led it several years ago. I have to give mad props to the team who not only captured the vision but executed a smooth amazing online experience for myself, and everyone else who attended. 👏🎉
Anyways, here are several photos from the past week:
(Our Men’s Ministry guys got together during the weekend to enjoy each other’s time as well as encourage each other to live out Faithfulness, Integrity, Responsibility, and Edification! 👨)
(Boba delivery for night shift friend 👩⚕️ Blessed by her service, though I did accidentally spill her tea on the way to the hospital 😅 )
(My work-from-home setup - I use a standing desk extension so I don’t ruin my posture and sit all day cause coding 24/7 ya know 💻)
(One of my favorite hobbies is learning new foods to make for our roomie dinners. An end goal I have is being able to cook a 7-8 course for a single meal, as a way to bless others and low key to flex. 💪 We’ll see how that goes 😬 )
(This past week, I made beef ribs & cream corn. 10/10 would recommend 🤤 Though we were lacking in greens 😅)
If y’all have any prayer requests, thoughts, or suggestions, would love to hear from you! 🙂
With that, stay safe, keep it savvy, and I’ll see y’all in the next update 😊
Eric
Weekly Collections
A collection of articles I enjoyed…
Faith
”Forgiveness outwits Satan, and forgiveness subverts his wickedness.
Forgiveness may be the hardest thing many of us do in our lifetimes. I say may, because many suffer and wrestle in horrible ways. But even then, how much of our suffering is owing to someone else’s sins or failures? Because none of us is without sin, forgiveness is simply a given if we want to love and be loved in this life.
And because forgiveness can be hard, God gives us great reasons to forgive.
We forgive because he first forgave us: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
We forgive because God crushed his Son for our forgiveness. He canceled “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).
“Maybe the most effective way to wage spiritual warfare today would be for us to more quickly and freely forgive.”
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12)
Instead, we rush to forgive flesh and blood.
And we wrestle “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
The rulers and authorities of darkness trade in angry grudges.
The spiritual forces of evil breed bitterness and dissension. But we, those forgiven by God, defy and defeat them by wielding the precious and dangerous weapon of forgiveness.”
—Forgiveness is Spiritual Warfare | Marshall Segal
Entrepreneurship
There is a phrase people should never say:
“Our people won't…”
“My son won't, my daughter won't...”
“Our church members don't care about the non-church people"
"Our newest employees won't work more than 40 hours a week…"
"We can't make anyone go to the earliest prayer…"
"People don't want to raise the next generation"
Rather than saying “Our people won't”, instead, say:
We have not led them to...
I have not led them to...
Rather than blaming, we are owners and take responsibility for it.
"A great leader never gives blame. A great leader always takes responsibility”
Leaders lead people. You move people to a desired action:
We show them why something matters.
We celebrate ANY forward progress.
We tell stories about those who get it right.
We set the standard and personally do more than we ask anyone else to do.
We cast vision.
We never ever ever give up.
When we lead, we lead people to a certain outcome.
"You can make an excuse, or you can make a difference, but you cannot make both"
A couple of questions to ask oneself:
What is the number one excuse you make for your people?
What are three things you can lead those you influence to the desired result?
—Notes taken from The Forbidden Phrase | Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
Productivity
“My favorite Derek Sivers article is called “Assume You’re Below Average.”
Most people think they’re better than others, so he cites statistics like "Ninety-six percent of cancer patients claim to be in better health than the average cancer patient” and "Ninety-four percent of professors say they are better-than-average teachers.” But Sivers does the opposite.
Assuming he’s below average encourages him to ask questions and listen more.
"To assume you’re below average is to admit you’re still learning.
You focus on what you need to improve, not your past accomplishments.”
—Assume You’re Not Original | David Perell
Weekly Reflections
Reflections to ponder…
Have you ever looked up and enjoyed the majesty of how clouds formed? I think I got a glimpse of God’s beauty in His creation while biking the past week:
Verse of the Week
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
—Isaiah 43:1b-2 ESV
Challenging Quote
"Lack of confidence kills more dreams than lack of ability.
Talent matters—especially at elite levels—but people talk themselves out of giving their best effort long before talent becomes the limiting factor.
You're capable of more than you know. Don't be your own bottleneck."
—James Clear
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!