Sometimes people in our lives challenge us. Often when we think deeply about the challenge, we may realize that we own some of the challenge, and dealing with the challenge well will improve our lives. That happened to me recently. An individual in my life challenged who I am, what I choose, and where I'm headed in life. The challenge made me think deeply about what I do and why I do it.
The challenge had to do with some of my investments of time and energy--this individual contested how I spend my time and energy insinuating that I was making some poor choices. This pushed me to think about some of the actions I do because I think they are important to the culture I support for myself and others--choices the individual does not deem to be valuable.
The individual's words hurt me because I have a deep commitment to these choices for reasons that connect to my life today, past, and future. I was upset that the individual did not value what I valued, however as I thought about it, I realized that we will all make different choices in life, and when our choices are challenged, that makes us think more about whether our choices are made to match our values and interests. The challenge also made me realize once again, that we don't always have to agree about what we do. The individual's challenge did not affect people's health or welfare, but instead simply expressed a difference of opinion.
Long ago, a significant project I was invested in was challenged. I eventually gave up on the project only to find that years later the project was embraced with depth by many, many people. When I was invested in the project it was new to people, and in general, people often act unfavorably to new ideas and initiatives. I wish I didn't give up too quickly on that valuable project, and instead worked to make it better and more understandable to those who were negative. This same situation might be true of the initiative, an individual challenged recently--the novelty of the situation may be what is most off-putting about it. I'm not sure about this, but I've decided to continue to invest my time and energy into the effort for now. I'll think about the individual's challenge too as I work to better the event. Onward.
