It’s better to wear out than rust out – Frances Willard
Nice quote! This speaks to how I hope to spend my summer. I won’t be taking classes this summer for several reasons, the primary being I need to the time to build up my school fund for next year. (Xavier’s a bit expensive and I will NOT go in debt for school). Second to that is there is so much I’ve been yearning to do, but have been unable to do, because of classes and the associated studying and homework. I’ll have the summer free and I’m going to take advantage of it to get worn out!
For me, I tend to have extremes – when I’m busy, I’m really busy; when I have nothing to do, I really do absolutely nothing. In high school and college, I was constantly on the go, being involved in just about any organization or activity in which I had the slightest interest. The more I did, the more I was driven to be more involved – band, student government, service organizations, religious organizations, etc. I didn’t tire so much at first, as each activity fed energy into the system to go to the next activity. As you can probably guess, though, I did wear myself down at times. Ironically, I felt worn out the most when I had some downtime, when having a single evening free with no meetings or obligations seemed like having a whole free weekend. It’s similar to running on a hot day – you don’t realize how tired and sweaty you are until you stop. But, dog-gone-it, I was wearing out rather than rusting out!
A couple years after I graduated (I was still connected and involved in college life for a bit after I graduated), when the easily accessible organizations and opportunities were no longer laid out in front of me, I went to the other extreme – I went to work then…nothing. I hung out with friends and such, but that’s not the same type of involvement as what I had in college. I no longer was part of groups that were making a difference in myself or others. I didn’t have the energy of being involved to feed me to get more involved. I didn’t feel motivated to start the ball rolling, either. The stress of work, especially at my previous job, led me to not want to do anything but crash afterwards. The spirit of apathy and lethargy was feeding me to be more apathetic and lethargic. I was rusting out.
A few years ago, my eyes started opening to this reality and I realized I was missing a prime time of my life to make a difference. I started slowly turning the corner and adding things to my plate again, such as occasional charity work, bible study, work activities and eventually school. Things are different from the college days, though. I’m no longer as youthful and full of energy as I had been. I can’t stay up until 2 or 3 am and make it through a day of work and classes. Having been slave to the man for seemingly too many years now, my body has accustomed itself to the 9-5 work schedule and the sleeping patterns associated with the schedule. Being back in school now, I’ve had a bit of a re-awakening, a hearkening back to those college days of yesteryear, and a desire to be worn out again. I know it can’t be like it was in college, so I do have to be realistic and not over do it. It’s important to set boundaries and have priorities in place.
But it’s time to again be more worn out than rusted out again!
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