Learning to Love it! A Call to Action

It has been said that if you love what you do it will not seem like work to you.  Sometimes that love comes naturally, you just seem to have a passion for a particular thing and do it for the sheer enjoyment of it.  Other times that love must be cultivated.  I think a lot of people fall into the second category on most things.

One thing we can do is to change our paradigm of the meaning of work in our lives.  Work need not be drudgery or unfulfilling.  When we recognize that work is essential to our livelihood and well-being as productive members of society it makes a difference in how we view it.  It adds a richness and sense of accomplishment and meaning to our days when we find a purpose in what we do.

Sometimes we have a problem with maturing beyond the feelings we had as children when asked to do our daily chores because we'd just rather be doing something else.  When we have that feeling of being forced to do something, the natural resistance of that creates quite a drag on our ability to do hard things.  We can also have that resistant attitude when someone else suggests we should be doing something.  We may also be well-intended but procrastination paralyzes our movements forward.

Often times a task seems overwhelming and undoable just from a fearful point of view.  There is not enough time, I cannot master the skills needed, it is just too much to ask of me when I have X, Y, and Z all pulling me in different directions. We are afraid to try for fear of failure.  We forget that an arrow rarely hits a bull's eye on the first try.  Often what is needed is a call to action within ourselves.  Being self-motivated creates the best environment for cultivating a love for the work. 

Here are some ideas for re-framing our thoughts on family history and genealogy.

1.  Consider why we are asked to do this work.  There are many reasons but perhaps the most important one is to Strengthen Families.  Of course this includes essential ordinances for all as we connect our family generation to generation by aiding our Father is His great work.  This work strengthens our families both those living, our ancestors and our posterity. It truly does create a chain of enduring love.

Who could argue that this is needed in every family?  Don't we all agree that every social ill basically comes from the decline in the most important social unit in our society, the family?  Strengthening families is more important now than ever before.  This would not create a perfect world because even in the best of families every individual has their agency to act for themselves.  However,  it would bring us a lot closer if families made a concerted effort to be strengthened by working together to that end.   Purposefully concentrating on our family history is one viable way to do this.  When we understand the why we are more motivated to learn the way and do it.

2.  You can learn to do this.  In the process your love for your family will grow exponentially as you make the effort.  That new found love and change in you will produce positive changes within your home environment and with your extended family.  The service you render to your ancestors by remembering them and honoring their contributions to the person you have become is wonderful.  Doing their ordinance work with endear them to you in ways that must be experienced to be understood.

By collaborating with your family and others working on your lines you will reduce your work load and avoid duplication of effort as you share in this experience.  Sometimes genealogy seems like a solitary experience but it doesn't have to be.  Be creative in finding others that you can work with and learn from and share the joys of discovery and accomplishment.  Find a mentor or be one.  Learn, share and pay it forward.

 3.   Begin by believing that change is possible.  You can do this!  Change is hard, it takes effort until it becomes part of your daily routine.  Don't try to do it all at once.  Learning new skills takes time, effort and practice.  It is never too late to get started.  The Lord does not ask us to do things without providing a way for us to accomplish it.  This process of learning about and capturing information and learning more about our family is exciting, doable and very worthwhile. Praying for help and inspiration and the spirit of Elijah is essential and effective.

4.  Catch the vision.  Realize that Family History is very broad in scope.  Seek a vision of the big picture, but start small.  Start with something you love.  Do you love organizing and getting your life in order? Do you love genealogy and doing temple work?  If so, there is so much help now via knowledgeable and experienced people, technology and the Internet.

Are you seeking to increase your temple attendance or to go to the temple for your own endowment?  Do you have a goal to take just one deceased family member to complete the ordinance work by a certain date?   There are countless people that can help you get started or break down a brick wall you have encountered.

People of all races, creeds, ages, socio-economic status and religions are finding genealogy and family history very exciting.  If you want to see evidence of this just watch NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are".  It will touch your heart.  You can watch previous episodes by Googling: Who Do You Think You Are~NBC~watch episodes.  You can also find it on ancestry.com.

In addition to the above, do you have leanings toward the artistic side of Family History?  There is journaling, photography, scrapbooking, collecting heirlooms and attaching meaningful stories about the original owners, creating all manner of things like books and story quilts that feature and preserve the uniqueness of your own family.

If you enjoy writing try journaling or blogging.  It is important to leave a written legacy. If you don't feel confident in your writing just jot down little stories and events on 4x6 cards as you think of them and you will eventually have your history done.  Think small, by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.  All these activities will encourage you to think about your entire family and how your life has connectivity with theirs.

Perhaps you are a social butterfly and would enjoy doing interviews with your living relatives or recording interactions with your grandchildren as they grow.  Or how about  planning and carrying out a family reunion?  To see our family reunion blog from 2011 click here.  This link takes you to a place where you can see the whole blog for ideas and planning one.  If you just want to see a sampling of the blog and read about a lesson on the importance of family, click here.

 Do you have the travel bug? How about planning a trip to one of your places of origin?  Or taking a virtual Google Maps walk through your childhood addresses and favorite places, it is free and convenient and easy.

 What is it that appeals to you right now? 

 Let your interest become your passion by paying

 attention to it and learning all you can about it. 

 The sky is the limit because you are living your family history.  How about planning meaningful things now and then creating the family history you want to have?  You know you can write your own story by the plans you create and carry out.  We do this all the time we just call it something else, life planning or time management or goal setting.  Your life is your family history.   We are all engaged in family history everyday.

5.   Make a Plan and work your Plan.   We all know that if we fail to plan we can plan to fail.  Everything requires forethought and a vision of what we'd like to accomplish.  Eat the elephant one bite at a time, but have a plan.  Follow through with your plan and realize it takes time to get it right.  Be kind to yourself but be persistent.  

6.    Be patient.   Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is your family tree and family history going to be.  One step at a time, one person at a time, one page at a time, that is how it is done.   Seek the desire, commit, take action, and exercise faith.  All of that will precede your miracles.  Don't put it off decide now what you will do!

 

Enjoy the Journey!