Month: April 2024

Blogpost, self-reliance

Whose Job Is It?

Pete Huryk

In mid April on a Sunday afternoon in 2007, I had a great day! My son’s first birthday party was a collection of family, friends, presents and positivity for the future. It wasn’t perfection but it was pretty great! The next day changed all of that for a while. On the campus of Virginia Tech, the worst side of humanity reared its ugly head and it sent me spiraling. Perhaps it was only the proximity of the two events that caused the issue but I was overrun with guilt. How could I bring a child into a world where that type of hate was possible? For about two months, I was in the closest thing that I can equate to a depression. Eventually, the thing that preceded the downturn got me out of it, my son. No matter what had happened, I had a responsibility to show up for him. Not only to protect him from things until was able to take that on himself but to be a force for good. The world was not inherently evil or good. I had the opportunity to “color” the world through my actions.

So I pose the very ambiguous question again. Whose job is it? Whose job is it to make sure that I show up as the best version of myself today? The answer is simple and we all know it, it’s mine! It also comes linked with a word that many people don’t like, RESPONSIBILITY. It’s a daunting word but let’s break it down. Response ability, the ability to respond (not react) to a situation.

It’s that major ingredient that is the base for our progress as people. I needed to take it when I had a one year old son despite my guilt. Even Billy Madison, the buffoon who needed to repeat school to prove to dad he wasn’t a fool, understood responsibility. “You don’t just look for an hour and call it quits! You get your a$$ out there and find that f—-ing dog!”

Now that it’s pretty certain whose job it is, embrace it! The best version of you is available. Lean into it. When you fall short, respond with another attempt. The people around you need a great version of you whenever they can get it.

Peace! I’m outta here!

Pete

Blogpost, self-reliance

Bound for the Floor

Pete Huryk

It’s the title of the only song that I know by the band, Local H. While they never made a huge impact on my listening habits, their one song pops into my head from time to time. Usually it’s when I’m near my hometown. There is a sign for the hospital with the word “local” above it. I’d always just assumed that it was the inspiration for the band’s name. Regardless of my error, “bound for the floor” makes an appearance occasionally.

The combination of the song title and my association with the hospital has always created a universality to the song. We’re all bound for the floor at some point. It may not happen any time soon but it’s inevitable. Literal or metaphorical, we’re impacted by gravity constantly and the pull of our mortality. In the short term we’re going to fall and in the long term, we’ll stay down permanently.

There are plenty of dispositions to take toward these truths. At the one extreme, there’s the hopelessness of everything. Why bother? It’s all going to end and I’m going to get hurt along the way. So why bother? In the other direction is the urgency. This will end and now is all that I get. Bounce back up as quickly as possible and do all that you can with the time that you have. In between those two extremes is an infinite number of ways to move forward. Choosing is the key. Deciding your disposition toward the floor before it comes. Since it is inevitable, when and why are often unknowable but the how is largely up to us.

Born to be down… Sure! But don’t stay there long or indulge in it. It will catch up with you eventually but looking over your shoulder is only going to keep you from seeing all of the beauty in front of you. It’s up to you!

Keep it copacetic!

Pete

Blogpost, self-reliance

Biblical Feces!

Pete Huryk

It doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as “Holy sh**!” but the basic components are there. For a variety of reasons, one has been adopted as an exclamation of surprise or delight. And the other is nonsense that I use to illustrate a point. While we’d love to believe that we’re communicating accurately, things like this are everywhere. The words and the meaning behind them are quite different. None of us came up with HS! We just use it. If biblical feces caught on, we might use that too.

It’s utility not accuracy. Function rather than form. Our standing order as humans is not to be perfect. It’s to carry on and try to progress. The history of the human race is littered with the imperfection of our ancestors. Yet here we are! Bathing in a world that would make them say “Biblical feces!” Or whatever exclamation they saw fit.

So don’t stop the heritage that we have. Make your best attempt at the things that you care about today. Push the envelope everyone once in a while and maybe you’ll astound the people around you enough to have a “biblical feces!” moment. You’re more than capable. You may just be caught up in the normal feces of everyday.

Getting it wrong is often the first step to getting it right!

Pete

Uncategorized

Easy to Ignore

Pete Huryk

There is information all around us. It comes in at such a frantic pace that our brains are actually better at ignoring things than paying attention to them. So attention becomes a skill that needs to be developed and honed for the specific needs of a person. A woodsman can see a certain type of scratches on tree bark and know that a bear may be lurking nearby. An economist can see a combination of movements within the markets and know that a crash is coming. We don’t need to know it all and in fact we can’t! Just because our brains are set up to ignore the majority of the information that comes in, doesn’t mean that autopilot is the best strategy.

Our brain is always trying to be efficient. So it only pays attention to the things that it has been told are important. It also tends to lose focus on things if they’re viewed as handled. What are the things that need your focus this week? Maybe they’re different than last week. That special situation needs attention. Or that thing that you’ve thought was settled needs to be tweaked. What indicators of success should you be looking for? Do you know whether you’re getting closer or farther aways from your big goals? Are there any signals of danger than you should be noticing? The scratches on a tree that an expert would recognize. Do you need someone from outside of your own brain to look at the situation?

When you don’t see the signals, they’re easy to ignore. A red light at an intersection is invisible, if the right distraction comes along. What do you truly want from tomorrow? This week? This month? This year? Then pay attention!

“There is no spoon.”

Pete