From Dr. Jane's Notebook

Finding your passion

It’s hard to know what to say on the auspicious occasion of this newspaper’s 30^th birthday. It is really a great accomplishment for any newspaper to serve its community for 30 years. I have been pleased to be part of Hamburger Square Post family since moving to Greensboro in 1986. Back then, I was punching the typewriter and hand carrying articles, which then needed to be re-typed before publication. Since that time, technology has made articles easier to submit but not necessarily easier to write. So when I think about what it takes to put together an entire newspaper every month, as Betsy Seale, Editor-in-Chief has done for the past 30 years, I am truly amazed. What does it takes to make a dream, such as hers come true? Here are a few thoughts on the matter.

You’ve got to find your passion. At a time when there was plenty of competition from bigger newspapers, Betsy was undeterred from creating her own journalistic dream. She created her own niche in our community, found ways to overcome tough times, and never lost her infectious enthusiasm. Over time, she has been like a Pied Piper, recruiting family and friends to join her in executing her dream. Such dedication is unusual and offers a formidable role model for young and old alike.

Jobs, careers, and back-up careers. These days, many people struggle to find work. But not all jobs provide the level of satisfaction that we desire. It is not enough to be good at something. You can actually be great at doing a particular job, but considering the number of hours we devote to our work, if you don’t love it, it’s going to be hard to get out of bed in the morning. For this reason, I recommend that people also give thought to back-up jobs and careers. Many hobbies become suitable sources of long-term satisfaction, even when we need to keep our day jobs for a while.

Write down your goals and aspirations. While many folks say they have a mental tally of their long term goals, writing them down on paper also writes them on your unconscious mind. The unconscious mind operates much like DNA which unfolds over time. Like the athlete preparing for a match or a GPS system in a car, it is all important to program our minds to go in the desired direction. Otherwise, it is easy to become distracted and realize years later, that we somehow ended up off-course with a different life than we expected.

Believe in yourself. At all stages of life, others are likely to warn you about competition and try to dissuade you from your goals. Those who have accomplished much may warn you of overwhelming competition. Those who have accomplished little may warn about failure and rejection. Listening to naysayers is disheartening and intimidating. Beware of toxic people whose words may get in your way.

While life is short, most of us have the opportunity to pursue our goals if we’re willing to persist, be assertive, and seek alternative methods when stumbling blocks get in our way. Life as we know it is continually changing. Not too many years ago, no one would have believed that most families would have their very own computers, that it would be possible to send documents over telephone lines, and that tiny little cell phones would allow folks to communicate all over the planet. Quite a bit has changed over the past thirty years which leads me to believe we have no way to predict what the next 30 years will bring. Fortunately, the Hamburger Square Post serves as a chronicle of our community, looking back and moving forward. My heart-felt congratulations on a job well done!!

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