Advent at Work: Seeing Clearly With a Fresh Set of Eyes
(Originally posted on December 12, 2013)
Sometimes at work you need a fresh set of eyes. Something's not working and you want to see clearly what the problem really is.
Maybe your filing system isn't organized as it should be. Maybe your customer service should provide quicker, more satisfying responses to inquiries or complaints. Maybe you need a flatter organizational structure to facilitate quicker decision-making. If you run a small business, maybe it's time to upgrade your technology.
Whatever the problem or issue, sometimes it's hard for you to assess things when you're too close to them, so you want a fresh set of eyes to take a look. Maybe they can see things more clearly, identify problems and recommend solutions quicker and better than you might be able. It could be someone from within the company or a consultant you hire from outside your company. In fact, sometimes it's good to just have a fresh set of eyes take a look at the whole business and tell you what you might do to improve the bottom line and the best ways to do it.
The holy season of Advent is good time to look at things with a fresh set of eyes. The season marks the beginning of a new Liturgical Year - a new beginning. We've posted a series on planning for next year and urged you to complete it. If you did that already, you may have noticed how that planning process itself provides you with a fresh set of eyes by helping you to look at your life and your work in a special way. By looking at things differently, you can use your own eyes as a fresh set of eyes. (Click HERE for the first post on planning for the new year.)
So Advent can provide the impetus we need to look at things with a fresh set of eyes. And just as we need a fresh set of eyes from time to time to assess our work, so we do to assess the state of our souls. If you're not sure where to begin, how about the Sacrament of Confession? Too few of us avail ourselves of Confession anymore. If it's been more than a month, consider getting to confession right away.
We can develop the habit of examining our conscience at least once each day. There are many ways to do this, and you should find a way that suits your own temperament. (Click HERE for a good Confession Guide for Adults. It's brief and to the point and contains a section on examination of conscience.)
These are just a couple of suggestions we can use during this holy season of Advent to begin anew. They provide that fresh set of eyes we need to assess and improve our interior life just as we might apply a fresh set of eyes to our work.
Most of us spend the majority of our time at work. Many of us seek ways to improve our work from time to time. Maybe we do this out of necessity, or out of pride or - even better - so that the effort we put into producing quality work gives greater glory to God.
Now let's translate the energy that we apply to our work and dig deep into our souls. It's time to use a fresh set of eyes and straighten things out before the Divine Infant of Bethlehem arrives in only a couple of weeks. Straighten out whatever needs straightening. Just as your work inevitably improves when you take a fresh look at things, so will your soul.
Sometimes at work you need a fresh set of eyes. Something's not working and you want to see clearly what the problem really is.
Maybe your filing system isn't organized as it should be. Maybe your customer service should provide quicker, more satisfying responses to inquiries or complaints. Maybe you need a flatter organizational structure to facilitate quicker decision-making. If you run a small business, maybe it's time to upgrade your technology.
Whatever the problem or issue, sometimes it's hard for you to assess things when you're too close to them, so you want a fresh set of eyes to take a look. Maybe they can see things more clearly, identify problems and recommend solutions quicker and better than you might be able. It could be someone from within the company or a consultant you hire from outside your company. In fact, sometimes it's good to just have a fresh set of eyes take a look at the whole business and tell you what you might do to improve the bottom line and the best ways to do it.
The holy season of Advent is good time to look at things with a fresh set of eyes. The season marks the beginning of a new Liturgical Year - a new beginning. We've posted a series on planning for next year and urged you to complete it. If you did that already, you may have noticed how that planning process itself provides you with a fresh set of eyes by helping you to look at your life and your work in a special way. By looking at things differently, you can use your own eyes as a fresh set of eyes. (Click HERE for the first post on planning for the new year.)
So Advent can provide the impetus we need to look at things with a fresh set of eyes. And just as we need a fresh set of eyes from time to time to assess our work, so we do to assess the state of our souls. If you're not sure where to begin, how about the Sacrament of Confession? Too few of us avail ourselves of Confession anymore. If it's been more than a month, consider getting to confession right away.
We can develop the habit of examining our conscience at least once each day. There are many ways to do this, and you should find a way that suits your own temperament. (Click HERE for a good Confession Guide for Adults. It's brief and to the point and contains a section on examination of conscience.)
These are just a couple of suggestions we can use during this holy season of Advent to begin anew. They provide that fresh set of eyes we need to assess and improve our interior life just as we might apply a fresh set of eyes to our work.
Most of us spend the majority of our time at work. Many of us seek ways to improve our work from time to time. Maybe we do this out of necessity, or out of pride or - even better - so that the effort we put into producing quality work gives greater glory to God.
Now let's translate the energy that we apply to our work and dig deep into our souls. It's time to use a fresh set of eyes and straighten things out before the Divine Infant of Bethlehem arrives in only a couple of weeks. Straighten out whatever needs straightening. Just as your work inevitably improves when you take a fresh look at things, so will your soul.
Divine Infant of Bethlehem,
come and take birth in our hearts
(Oh,
and you can ask Our Lady to help you in this on this, her beautiful
feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which we will celebrate tomorrow.)
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