Some questions stump us.
We’ll hear them and immediately freeze up. With looks of confusion written all over our faces, bystanders are able to hear the rusty wheels turning in our heads.
“What was my locker combination in high school?” we’ll mutter to ourselves.
“Who did play third base for the Atlanta Braves in 1990?” we’ll wonder aloud.
“When is my wife’s birthday?” we’ll ponder in panicked bewilderment.
And then there are the questions whose answers arrive to us immediately.
The questions we don’t have to think about. The questions that almost seem too easy. The questions we begin answering before they’re finished being asked.
Jamie Spencer asked me such a question recently. He asked me, “What blog post has inspired you the most?”
This was my answer:
The list of blog posts that have inspired me over the years is massive, but there are two posts that stand out: “On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas” and “How to Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise and Get Paid to Change the World.”
These posts of Jon Morrow’s give me hope. When I’m down about blogging, I read them to lift my spirits. When I want to live vicariously through the eyes of someone who struggled ? mightily ? yet still rose to the top, these posts give me a front-row seat. When I worry my blog will never reach the level of success that allows me to quit my job, work from home, and spend more time with my wife; Jon’s posts tell me “yes ? you can!”
Hope is a powerful thing.
It keeps us going when we feel like giving up. It assures us there is light despite all the darkness. It allows to optimistically walk into a new year thinking maybe, just maybe, it will be better than the last.
We all have days like the ones I describe above.
Those days where it feels like we can’t possibly think of another topic to write about. Those days where it feels as though we’ve peaked. Those days where we feel like throwing in the towel.
I certainly have them. A lot.
And you know what I do?
I look up towards Heaven, and I’m reminded of the gifts that have been bestowed upon me. I glance towards my smiling, supportive wife; and I’m filled with the promise of one more idea. I read the works of Jon Morrow, and I’m inspired to get up and try again and again.
What gives you hope?
It’s a question that shouldn’t stump you.
Creative Commons Image via Hartwig HKD (adapted).
