Monthly Archives: March 2021

Recently, faced with a difficult choice, I decided I needed some help, so I made an appointment with a coach. I’d never gone to a coach before and I wondered if it would just be a waste of time. Turns out it was the best thing I could have done.

My coach didn’t tell me what to do. Mainly she just listened, asking a question here and there and sometimes offering a suggestion. The thing was, as I talked and she listened, I found all the pieces coming together and the answer to my dilemma slowly became clear. Just having someone listen to me helped me be able to listen to myself better, allowing me clarity to make the right choice.

I think sometimes the greatest gift you can give another person is just to listen to them for awhile. Don’t offer advice right off the bat, don’t interrupt, and definitely don’t judge. Just listen. Quiet your own soul, still the voice that wants to tell them what to do, and just be there for them. The time may come when they want your input, but for the moment what they really need is just to be heard.

Our natural tendency in these situations is to jump right in with what we think is the answer to their problem. In coaching this tendency is called the “Righting Reflex”. Our intentions are good, but our approach is all wrong. We care about them, so we want to fix them, but if we try to give them advice without hearing them out and learning the facts we often do more harm than good. This is why Solomon warned, “To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.” (Proverbs 18:13 NIV).

The thing is, more often than not, they already know the answer to their problem. They just need someone to let them get it all out in the open so they can figure it out on their own.

So, the next time someone asks to speak to you, take the advice in James 1:19 and “be quick to listen, slow to speak”. In other words, shut up and listen! You’ll be giving them just what they need and, who knows, you just may learn something yourself!

Several years ago I started work at a new medical practice. Like with any new place there was some adjusting as I got to know the staff and my new supervising physician, Pete. Thankfully, Pete made the transition easy. Pete truly cares about people and his patients love him for it, as does his staff.

When I first joined Pete’s practice, I shared a small office with him. We spent a lot of time talking and discussing cases and I was impressed by his knowledge and his caring attitude. His enthusiasm for medicine and life in general was contagious.

Pete tends to be quite optimistic, but one day he kind of dragged into the office and announced with a moan, “Enthusiasm is low.” I don’t know what had him down, but he had a lot of responsibilities and that day must have been an especially tough one.

Pete can’t stay down for long, however. The next morning he blew into the office full of energy, clapped me on the shoulder and declared, with a smile on his face, “Enthusiasm is high!” After that I think both our days went better. It was good to have the old Pete back!

Sometimes it’s really hard to keep a positive attitude. In medicine, like in any career, there are days when it’s hard to just keep going. Everything seems difficult and when you finally get to go home you wonder if it was all just a useless waste of time.

I was feeling that way the other day. Enthusiasm was low and I was just looking forward to the day being over. That’s when I happened upon 1 Corinthians 15:58, which says, “Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

The key here are those words “for the Lord”. If you’re just working to make a living, striving to get ahead, to put food on the table, then it can be hard to get very enthusiastic about the everyday routine. However, if you’re working to please the One you love, the God who gave His Son so you could have eternal life, then even the smallest tasks can be a joy to do and everything has a purpose.

It doesn’t matter if it’s treating a sniffly nose, painting the side of a house, or cleaning up a kitchen, if we’re doing it for the Lord it is never useless. God can make something useful out of even the most mundane task if we’re doing it out of love for Him.

This week, when you feel your enthusiasm getting low, remember who you’re working for and determine, in “whatever you do, [to] do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Then, if someone asks you how you’re doing, reply, with a smile on your face, “Enthusiasm is high!”