Chapter 190

“Life is not what you get out of it . . . it's what you put back in.” Rath

And sometimes I am not getting much out of it because I am not putting anything into it. There are times it is incredibly hard to put anything into it, like when I am jet lagged out of my mind, when I am feeling overwhelmed, when your losses are piling up and your wins are nowhere to be found, when you are trapped between two impossible responsibilities, and when your heart is not in it at all. I get it. These things, and more, are very real, but they are also excuses to not put anything into it. These matters seem to overcome any resolve you may have made about putting in more. I get it, I experience this too, but still . . . 

Life. It is a paradox of time - it crawls very slowly when you are experiencing it moment by moment, like when your kid is puking all night and you get to be the one who cleans up puke in your family. And three decades are gone in a puff of smoke when you are looking back on it, like I am right now sitting at this table writing this and remembering and also mulling over the trap my wife has set for me to attend a Valentines dinner on Sunday. All these words about the paradox are important because you have to keep your input-into-life-engine running steady or puff of smoke later, you have missed your opportunity and you didn’t.

So steady as she goes contributions likely add up to some decent input into life (pay attention here men!). But actually Tom Rath is talking about serving others and leading others, and making life about others, and that is what HE means by pulling effort into life, and experiencing a meaningful life in return.

So don’t get distracted by all that is distracting.

Raise your output levels for others significantly.

Experience a very rich life.