364 Shopping Days Until Christmas!

Usually a few weeks before Christmas, retailers will give people a countdown for how many shopping days until Christmas. Since Christmas gives retailers more income than any other event, it's amazing to see how they go all-out for it. Some Christmas items start hitting the shelves in September, which means that there are some people who are designing and manufacturing those items several months beforehand. I would guess that on any given day of the year, someone is working toward marketing something to sell for Christmas.

Amidst the commercialization of Christmas, I often imagine how strange it would be to have a party without a purpose. Every party I can think of centers around some kind of purpose: birthday, graduation, Super Bowl, etc. It is inconceivable to have a party without a purpose, and especially a party that is celebrated all around the world. And yet, Christmas seems to have lost its sense of purpose for many people. They buy the presents and decorate their houses, but don't stop to consider the reason for the season. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God, who came to Earth to show us that He is the only way to God through His death on the cross. Hallelujah! That is not only the reason for the season, but it is reason to celebrate all year long!

Is it so hard to change?

Many leaders understand how hard it can be to get others to embrace change. There's a certain security with doing things the same way we've always done them and a certain fear of the unknown. However, when people see that a new idea is a big improvement over the previous way of doing things, it can be easier to get buy-in. In fact, I've tried to avoid saying, "I'd like to implement some changes." Instead, I'm trying to say it like, "I'd like to make some improvements."

Technology is constantly changing (i.e. "improving") in our world, and it's interesting to see how eager most people are to upgrade their cell phones and computers. Having a cell phone with a camera built into it used to be new and exciting, but now it is hard to find a phone without one.

Why are some people who normally oppose change so open to upgrading their technology? The answer probably lies in their ability to see it when their friends or family get something cool. Seeing a new program helps a person understand its value and therefore creates a desire for having it. When leaders are advocating "improvements" in their organization, it can be helpful to point out the success that similar improvements have had in other organizations. When a leader wants to pursue a completely new idea (that no other organizations have done), it's pretty risky to have the whole organization launch into it at the same time. It's much easier for one part of the organization do it first (as a "test run") and then when other parts of the organization see it being successful, they can begin doing it too.

Is Santa Claus Real?

In my experience of working with children, I often get asked by children, "Is Santa Claus real?", or I get asked by parents, "What should I tell my children about Santa?" Here's my answer: A long time ago, there was a real man named Nicholas. He went around leaving surprise gifts for poor people around Christmastime. Eventually, he became called "Saint Nicholas" because of his kindness. Although Nicholas eventually died, his story lived on, and people added details that have led to a very unrealistic conception of any human being.

That's my nice response. My stronger response (when I'm in a bad mood) would be associate Santa with the devil in as many ways as possible. For example:

Both Santa and Satan use the same letters.
Neither Santa nor Satan regularly use the front door. Santa enters the house through a chimney and Satan looks for secret ways to come into our lives.
Santa is not the true reason for the season, and Satan is not the true ruler of the universe.
Both are traditionally associated with the color red.
Both are very old, much older than the people alive today.
Children think that Santa brings them gifts, but really it's their parents who put the gifts under the tree. Satan would like to see children unappreciative of their parents.
Santa comes in the middle of the night because he wants to be secret. Satan is invisible.
Santa's sleigh can fly around the world very quickly. Satan is a spirit, so he can travel very quickly too. Both are able to keep track of what people are doing.
Santa supposedly gives rewards to boys and girls for good behavior. Satan wants people to see good works as their ticket to heaven.

Does this sound like I'm being too hard on Santa? I'm not. It's not possible to be hard on somebody who does not exist.

Casey at the Bat

One of my favorite poems is “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. I enjoyed read through this a few nights ago, and since reading it have been considering some lessons we might take for our daily lives.

As you may recall, the story of Casey starts with a dismal situation:
“It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day.
The score stood six to four with but an inning left to play.”

The crowd had total faith in Casey, but didn’t think he would get to bat again because the two batters before him were not very reliable. However, those two batters got on base, bringing Casey (the go-ahead run) to the plate, which made the audience extremely excited:

“Ten thousands eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt,
Five thousand tongues applauded as he rubbed them on his shirt.”

Although the first two pitches were in the strike zone, Casey let them go by, saying, “That’s not my style.” It’s not until the third pitch that he really tries to hit it. He swings so hard that “the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow”, but he is unsuccessful. I wonder what might have happened if Casey had swung at the first two pitches. Chances are, he would have at least connected with the ball, perhaps even hit a 3-point home run. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t attempt to hit the first two pitches.

So why didn’t he attempt to hit the first two pitches? He was likely over-confident in his ability to hit any pitch he wanted, and was attempting to show off for the fans. But Casey is not the only one who struggled with over confidence; consider the fans in the stadium. When “Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat”, they were so sure that he would turn the game around. They loved Casey so much that when he made a mistake, the audience held the umpire responsible. And as the poem ends, “there is no joy in Mudville, for mighty Casey has struck out.”

When we look at the overconfidence of both Casey and the audience, it’s easy to look down on the characters in the poem, but I’d like to suggest that we’re all tempted to make the same mistakes. There are times that we all need to use our strengths (like Casey) and other times that we are cheering for others to use theirs (like the audience). In either case, we need to keep our confidence levels in check and recognize that nobody is perfect.

What about those two batters who came before Casey? The audience had labeled Flynn as a “pudding” and Blakey as a “fake”, and assumed they would both get out. The audience was pleasantly surprised to see that both them got safely onto base, but imagine what Flynn and Blakey were thinking as they stood at the plate. No one was cheering for them (although they cheered super loud when Casey came to the plate) and some people were even leaving. What kind of support does that show? Not much. This under-confidence can serve as a model for us as well. Of course not everyone has the same track record, but we should continue to support everyone on our team, regardless of their record.