My theme for 2021

29 comments on My theme for 2021
9 minutes

It was probably in adolescence that I conflated conflict with harm. I was a quiet nerd, not tough, which made me a bully target. At home, my dad was demanding, exacting, critical. It was safer to go along to get along. Sometimes it was safest to run away.

Me in the 7th grade

What we learn to make it through childhood doesn’t serve us well as adults. I’ve shed my childhood survival tactics save this one: unless I feel perfectly safe, I avoid disagreements.

There’s more. I want to live a life that’s true. If you’re my friend or my family, I want the same for you. Trouble can come when you and I are interdependent, but the life that’s true for you doesn’t fit the life that’s true for me. Then I tend to defer to you, because I want to be empathetic to your needs and challenges. I think I can suffer discomfort for a while so you can do what you need to do.

Over the last few years I’ve gone along with too much that I didn’t agree with. I’ve said yes to too many things I didn’t want or could not sustain. A lot of the stress I’ve experienced has come from saying yes when I would rather have said no. This is not serving me well.

Each New Year’s Day I share a single word that guides the choices I want to make that year. This year my theme is:

congruence

— that is, to live in line with my values and needs. That means I have to be more honest with my yes and no. As much as possible, I need to say yes only to things I can truly support. When I’m not sure, I won’t answer until I am. If I then need to say no, then I will say no. The more I do this, the more I will live according to my beliefs, desires, values, missions, and goals.

This is going to be tricky. Sometimes interrelated and conflicting beliefs, desires, etc., play in a situation. It can be hard to know which ones to prioritize so I know what to do.

⁜⁜⁜

When I was Director of Engineering at that software startup a few years ago, they brought in a new VP over me and nine months later she fired me.

She demanded unquestioning loyalty, which set her whole leadership team on edge. She abruptly fired two of my peer directors who weren’t fully playing her game. A third would not work in such an environment and resigned. I was the only person left from the original leadership team. I could see that she was toxic and I didn’t want to work for her, but I couldn’t afford to quit without another job lined up.

No Outlet

Openly disagreeing with her was dangerous. I did disagree, frequently. At first I tried to gently discuss my positions with her. Sometimes it held her off for a little while. After she terminated my peers I became less willing to engage. I tried to find a new job while mollifying the boss, but I didn’t find one soon enough.

In the last month or so of our time together, she said to me a few times, “I don’t think you’re telling me what you really think. I can’t trust you if you don’t tell me what you think.” But it was obviously not safe to tell her what I thought.

If I had it to do over, I’d disagree boldly. It didn’t work to mollify her like I did my childhood bullies and avoid her like I did my father. I can only guess at how it might have gone had I pushed back. Maybe she would have fired me sooner. That would have been better because it would have shortened my misery! It’s not impossible that if I had spoken boldly, outcomes could have been shaped for the better. Either way, I would have kept my integrity.

⁜⁜⁜

About five years ago, at church we started a day care and preschool. I was (and am) an elder there, and I was also a trustee then. That’s a lot of responsibility and accountability. The rest of the elders and the trustees were very excited about starting this day care. I wasn’t. I thought we shouldn’t do it.

Our neighborhood desperately needed a day care and preschool. Reliable, low-cost child care would enable many single moms in our neighborhood to work. Even the income from a job at Wendy’s or Dollar General could lift a mother out of serious poverty into…still poverty, but more functional and less stressful. Moreover, statistics are clear that early childhood education cuts later incarceration rates in half in economically challenged neighborhoods like ours.

My church has plenty of heart, but seriously lacks in organization and execution. I’m very good at those things, but I’m only one man and I was already organizing and executing all I could manage. Our existing ministries and programs spread us tissue-paper thin: Sunday services, a food pantry, a youth program, and a ministry of renting a couple houses we own at below-market rates to people in transition. We managed Sunday services well, but everything else needed help.

Not only did I not see how we could add a day care and preschool, but also I could not see how we would run it at the level the government required. They would come to inspect us every few months. I said to everyone over and over that I didn’t think we had the ability to take this on successfully. The rest of the elders and trustees wanted to move ahead anyway.

I acquiesced. We invested in considerable building renovations to meet safety standards, hired staff, and opened.

From the start we struggled to manage it. We struggled to attract qualified staff. We struggled to maintain required staffing levels for the number of kids we had. We had the usual amount of parents upset over this or that, but we struggled to handle the complaints. We failed a number of state inspections. We couldn’t even manage to file the paperwork on time to renew the federal funding that kept the cost low for parents. We temporarily lost that funding more than once, which was incredibly disruptive for parents.

I was right: it was more than we could handle. I wish I could go back and stand on a table and beat my chest that we were not equipped to handle the day care, and insist that we reconsider. I did not at all enjoy the months we operated the day care. I wish I had resigned over it. It burned me out on the church, and I’m still not recovered.

⁜⁜⁜

Atlas

I moved in with Margaret three years ago, after we married. We like to joke — though it’s no laughing matter — that we’ve lived through more difficulties than most couples face in 20 years. Several close family members have faced heavy grief and peril. So have Margaret and I. It’s been intense. We’ve stepped into the gap for our family members over and over. I prioritized my values of supporting our family, and of supporting my wife as she supported our family.

In service to these values I have said yes to several things I wasn’t enthusiastic about and to a few things I preferred not to do. They were reasonable responses to what we faced, but they took considerable time and energy. Because there’s only so much of both to go around, I have deferred pursuing some things at home that mattered to me. I also need a lot of down time, and I haven’t gotten nearly enough.

It’s all left me feeling angry. When I haven’t been angry, I’ve been depressed — which some say is just anger that lacks enthusiasm. Everybody in this house feels my anger.

I couldn’t foresee at first that we were in for several years of difficulty. I failed to prioritize my key needs enough. I can live in chaos for a time, but not for years as we’ve done. I need a quiet and predictable home life, and an orderly and beautiful home. I’ve deferred these for too long.

What I’ve learned is that every time I defer my needs, I don’t know for sure how long it will need to last. All of us can defer our needs temporarily for the greater good.

This isn’t going to be a simple matter of saying no more often. It’s going to also involve sometimes saying yes, temporarily. In other words, I can and will do this for a while. But long term I need whatever it is I need, and as you can see this thing I’m saying yes to isn’t that.

⁜⁜⁜

Saying yes when I’d rather say no to is a lifelong pattern. I did it in my first marriage, too. One of my first wife’s key insecurities was probably a deep-seated worry that her husband wouldn’t protect her in the clutch. She was insecure enough about it that she created all sorts of crises to see if I could rise to the occasion. I ran myself ragged trying to do what she wanted. I couldn’t manage it all, and it exhausted me. I finally did start to push back against it but by that time I had let years of irritation and anger build and I pushed back with fury. She never took even finessed, graceful pushback well. We ended up in ugly fights, and we coped in destructive ways. We couldn’t recover. As I’ve written before, ultimately she ejected me from the marriage.

I think that’s what I’m afraid of: ugly fights, being ejected, ending up high and dry. But obviously what I’m doing isn’t working. I was ejected from my first marriage, I was ejected from that job. Or as happened at church, I wasn’t ejected but I went along for a long and difficult ride that burned me out.

I can think of a few other situations in my life where my prolonged tongue-biting, where saying or intimating yes when I wanted to say no, ended up damaging or destroying the relationship anyway. Going along to get along keeps getting me exactly what I don’t want.

This may seem fundamental. But after a lifetime of trying to go along to get along, my awareness growing all the while that it wasn’t working for me, I’m finally ready to do something about it.

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Comments

29 responses to “My theme for 2021”

  1. Katie Yang Avatar

    I hope your determination takes you on the road you need to be, Jim.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you, Katie — I trust it will.

  2. fishyfisharcade Avatar

    Wishing you every success with your theme Jim. I think that the path of least resistance often has resentment as its destination. Its a path I’ve followed (and still often do unfortunately). Have a happy 2021!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      A life of less resentment would be such a blessing! I hope 2021 treats you well.

  3. Lone Primate Avatar
    Lone Primate

    I’m so impressed with the clarity of thought, the honesty of your self-reflection, and the courage it takes to be this frank with your audience that are evident here. Bravo, Jim. May your revelation and the changes you’ve decided to make bring you the serenity you seek.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks, LP. It will be work — lots of choosing differently despite my mind wanting me to stay on the comfortable path.

  4. brandib1977 Avatar

    When you said you had a doozy for today, you weren’t kidding!

    I have built a life out of doing what others demand. Only in the last few years have I managed to be truer to my own values but that’s mainly happened because I have withdrawn so much from my immediate world.

    It took my lifetime to understand that anyone who bullies or pushes me into things that make me uncomfortable aren’t looking out for me and my interests but for their own. Those people will typically say, do, or threaten anything imaginable to get their way. It’s especially terrible when that person is your boss.

    It does get stickier when the situation relates to relatives who are sick and dying and you are their best or only option. I’ve seen my own parents suffer because of these types of situations.

    Best of luck to you as you work through all this. You have good judgment and a wonderful spouse to help you through.

    My word of the year is accountable. I have the knowledge, means and even the motivation to achieve my goals but am not good at holding myself accountable in the long term. This needs to be the theme of my 2021.

    Happy New Year Jim!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I lived essentially alone for 10 years before remarrying. It’s interesting to me to notice how easy it was to live well within my values when my values were the only ones in the house. Now I live with three other people, very different from me, and I have to work at it to strike the right balance. I don’t want to be domineering, but I also don’t want to be a doormat.

      Good luck holding yourself accountable in 2021!

      1. brandib1977 Avatar

        Good point. I do live alone and am virtually responsible for just myself and a cat. My parents live next door and tend to impose their ideas a lot. My last relationship was with a guy whose values were mostly about money and I found myself following along. How easily we crumble to peer pressure!

        You’ll find the right balance. Just give yourself and everyone a chance to adjust.

  5. Christopher May Avatar
    Christopher May

    I’ve been terribly remiss about commenting on your blog but really had to for this post. Your thoughts are so on point and I really wish you the best in finding ways to implement the changes that you need in your life. I’ll be looking to do some of the same in the new year, too. As always, thank you for the wonderful effort you put into this blog. It means a lot to me and I know I’m not the only one that feels that way!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you Christopher, so much. I wish you blessings in 2021!

  6. Dani Avatar
    Dani

    Jim, for as long as I have known you, I have looked forward to your word for the new year. I find this process inspiring. Wishing you peace within throughout this journey.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you Dani, and I’m glad you enjoy my annual word. Wish me luck, this is going to challenge me.

  7. ronian42 Avatar
    ronian42

    Hi Jim, a thought provoking article as ever. Some words of The Lord to perhaps help you achieve your goals: Luke 14:28-30 and Matthew 5:37. I hope these help you.

    Wishing you and those you love health and happiness for 2021

    Ian

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I had Mt 5:37 in mind as I wrote this!

  8. DougD Avatar
    DougD

    Thats a good word for the year Jim. I have struggled with that too, my wife over commits herself and expects help, sometimes I find myself overcommitted to things I didn’t sign up for. The first years of our marriage were difficult, but we found the balance..

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Margaret and I are still new in our marriage, relatively speaking. I hope we find the balance soon.

  9. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    I believe Margaret is a stronger woman than C in a couple ways, and that she has been and will continue to be a better helper for you. Of course, I’m sure you’ve discussed it, but what does she need from you this year? I’m sure you two will put the effort in to make it work well with God’s help.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I think you’re right. Good thing, to ask what she needs from me this year. I will ask it.

  10. Steve Mitchell Avatar

    Honest writing. It is very hard sometimes to just be yourself….like you I usually look for a compromise, but I have learned that avoiding conflict sometimes only delays it until the issues become insurmountable. Adult children at home, especially in a blended family, can be very very difficult. There is a reason birds toss their young out of the nest as soon as they are ready. Blessings for the new year, may you find that peace :)

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Yes, adult children at home is hard. There’s something about being in your parents’ home as an adult child that has you revert to age 12 on some level. When I was in my early 20s I lived independently, but when I went home to visit Mom I would let her take care of me like I was 12. I wonder how she felt about that now.

      1. Michael Avatar
        Michael

        LOL. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think moms like being mom every so often. If you were living in her house, it may be a different story! :)

  11. Khürt Williams Avatar

    Thanks for sharing and being vulnerable. I can’t relate but I think my wife is very much like you, I hope you find ways to choose that leave you feeling empowered.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks, Khürt.

  12. Shirley B. Avatar
    Shirley B.

    First of all: thanks for sharing, Jim.

    I can relate to your blog. I had a burn out 20 years ago and this had everything to do with what you described.

    On my journey to climb out of the pit I was in, one important eye opener was an item discussed on the Oprah show (which I accidentally watched one day). Titled: taking extreme self care. It turned my entire view about priorities 180 degrees around.

    To take extreme self care, you need to put taking care of yourself your number one priority.
    In doing so, you will be (and stay) in the best shape, so you can take care of others. Your spouse and family, your job.

    You are the only one who can do this, no-one will do it for you.

    It’s taken time to get this into my system. To figure out what my body tells me, when asked to do something that might exert me. I learned to tell others when I am taking time to process their question. When needed I tell them that I will get back to them, because a simple yes or no is not possible.

    Sometimes the answer is: I’m sorry, but I am unable to do what you ask of me.
    When there is an alternative that may work out for both of us, I suggest that.

    People may need time to get used to you saying no. That’s understandable. Some will never be able to understand your needs for taking care of yourself. They don’t have to.

    Do what’s best for you.

    It will help you to stay healthy and take care of those you care for the most.

  13. J P Avatar

    I am late getting here but glad I read this. I share the tendency you describe, as I wrote recently. Your word for 2021 is a good one.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks J.P. — it’s not going to be easy to live it out but I’m going to keep working at it.

  14. Daniel Brinneman Avatar

    I understand your viewpoint and this may not come across as words of wisdom. Have you considered going hiking and camping for a few days? It would give you room to breath and rest in nature.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I don’t enjoy camping anymore but I adore hiking in the woods. Maybe Margaret and I could rent a cabin in a state park. It would be great to breathe the air in the quiet for a while.

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