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You Can’t Grow in Sweatpants

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Most of us are working diligently in pursuit of someday not working at all. Ever since Social Security was introduced by FDR, we define the American dream as not having to do anything for anybody. We wrap up this sentiment in one word – retirement.  This dream is not inspiring, it simply sounds like relief. Human beings always seek comfort. When shopping for a new mattress, furniture, or sweatpants, we process the level of comfort the item is providing. We process and prioritize the question, is this more comfortable than that? 

C. S. Lewis wrote, if you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair. As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I’m working overtime to try and keep this letter light and fluffy. The hard part about encouraging someone is that it often involves saying hard things at the right times. That being said, this week we need to exchange light and fluffy for grit and perseverance. Let’s collectively admit that we have all been bamboozled into thinking that comfort is the destination we all want and deserve. 

If you look back at your life you will find that your personal growth has always come from discomfort. So why do we so passionately pursue ease and relaxation? In effect, we dedicate our lives for the opportunity to not be challenged, tested, or held accountable. Makes sense, growth hurts and we can’t measure our growth while we are growing. Only after the growth can we look back and appreciate how we are now better off than we were prior to the discomfort. 

So, here is my encouragement, you are growing! You are improving! You are going to be better than you were prior to the pandemic! How do I know you are growing? I know you are growing because I know you’re uncomfortable. Let’s cheer each other on this week by embracing the discomfort. 

Have a great week, 

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

You Can't Grow in Sweatpants
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Free Advice

People love giving free advice. Pre-Corona, my wife and I would walk through stores with our kids and strangers would approach us with unwarranted tips and tricks. I could spot them from aisles away and knew they were headed our direction. I always laughed to myself and ask the question in my head, “What prompted that lady to go out of her way to provide insight on how she navigated the ups and downs of parenting in the ’70s.” Yet, here I am on the verge of walking up to you all and giving you advice that was not requested. 

One of the benefits of the virtual format is that you can’t really object or walk away. In fact, if you are still reading, this free advice is probably for you. So here it is…Walk don’t Run. Lifeguards have made careers out of sharing this advice with youngsters destined to slip on wet pool decks. Our youngest daughter is learning to walk. She has been crawling for several months and just recently has mustered the courage to let go of the furniture. She started with one step and now you can see here deliberating the fact that crawling is safe, but walking is going to take me places crawling can’t. 

Nobody has ever asked, “When did your kids start running?” They always want to know when they walked. Running is simple when you know how to walk. Too often, we run through life and put terms like goals, objectives, and achievements in place of the word occupied. Due to the pandemic, many of us have been required to slow our pace and take inventory of what is important. We are collectively hearing the lifeguard yell at us, WALK. 

Walking through life gives you the opportunity to enjoy the view, smell the roses, and meet fellow walkers along the way. This week, I encourage you all to walk. We can’t run past this virus and we certainly can’t pretend it hasn’t been difficult. What we can control is the speed at which we walk through this together. Most of the free advice givers typically end their council with, “Enjoy this time it goes fast.” Usually, I would give a patronizing thank you to these closing thoughts but this time I say thank you. You are right, it does go fast, and I am committed to enjoying every step.

Have a great week, 

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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