Feed Your Passion, Don't Drain Your Energy

January 22, 2020

Sara Schafer

In farming and life, it’s easy to cast blame. The sources of stress (weather, people, prices) are endless. What do they all have in common? They’re beyond our control.

Here’s a goal for 2020: Focus on the people and work that feed your soul, not the ones that drain it. 

Of course, you’ll still have to do tasks you don’t enjoy. But, a new year brings a fresh start and chance to make ourselves just a little bit better. 

The wise poet, singer and lifetime cheerleader Dolly Parton says it best: “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

No Excuses

Focus every day on what you can control, and cast the excuses in the ditch.  

“Less excuses create more room for opportunities to fit in,” says Bryan Dodge, author, executive coach and president of Dodge Development.

Dodge, who spoke a few years ago at Top Producer Seminar, shared some advice on how to find more satisfaction and seize the good in life. I hope you find some inspiration in these simple and powerful messages. 

Appreciate your blessings. “Good people appreciate what they have when they have it,” Dodge says. 

Bring energy home. I’m guilty of this, and I bet you are too. Your job takes an intense amount of energy, whether that’s managing pigs or people. By the time you’re surrounded by the people who matter the most, you are drained. Don’t use all your energy up on other people and processes. “You can get fired at home,” Dodge says. “If you bring your good energy home, your family will give it back.”

Be a reader; be a leader. The typical American has read four books in the past 12 months, according to Pew Research. What about you? How are you broadening your wisdom? “Everybody has to eat, but not everyone has to grow,” Dodge says. “Be a student of knowledge.”

Don’t be average, be good. “If you want to make a difference in life, don’t be average,” Dodge says. The path to mediocrity is paved in moving too fast, lackluster focus and forgetting to celebrate victories. Slow down, show pride and say thank you.  

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