Read
Chapters 4 & 5
Last September I did something I hadn’t done in more than 11 years. I sat in a college classroom as a student. Backpack filled with books. Sparkly pencil pouch stocked with sticky notes and pens — a gift from my childhood best friend.
It was the first class toward my Master’s in English from a Christian university, an innovative program focusing on the connections between literature, scholarship, and writing. We gathered around a large conference room table and dove into a discussion about the value of pursuing art.
I was in love.
Throughout the year, friends would nicely ask how graduate school was going. “It’s amazing!” I said. “So much work, but so fun.”
I was often met with peculiar looks. Work and fun in the same sentence? Huh?
“But how do you get it all done with three kids, a part-time job, ministry, and writing? You must be exhausted.”
My reply: “It’s really challenging, and I’m constantly relying on God for strength, but I thrive when I’m doing what He made to do. The hard work makes me happy.”
If you’ve been reading along in The Happiness Dare, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I’m a Doer. Sure, skimming the syllabus at the beginning of a course can feel utterly daunting, but there is sweet satisfaction with every chapter read, paper written, and assignment turned in — each earning a glorious check off the list.
(Perhaps I’ve been known to add items to my list even after they’ve been completed for the sheer delight of checking it off and seeing my record of accomplishments grow. And all the Doers say, Amen!)
As Jennifer Dukes Lee points out in her book, Doers should to be aware of their leaning toward perfectionism and performance-based identity. I had long seen my Doer-ness as a spiritual liability, requiring guarded watch lest I fall into pride’s greedy hands. But a potential weakness can also be a gift.
Taking the happiness style assessment gave me the insight and freedom to enjoy how God wired me!
Jennifer says Doers are in their sweet spot when “you are consciously working alongside God, happily doing what you were created to do to make the world a better place” (p. 77). Exactly! Whether I’m fixing dinner for my family, writing a paper about the spiritual basis for creativity, or speaking to a church full of young moms, I feel supremely happy, as Jennifer says, by a job well done.
Jennifer says:
Think if we could discover our own styles of happiness and then multiply what brings us joy. {p. 58}
Instead of feeling ashamed by my get-er-done and do-it-right mentality, I can embrace how God designed me and lean into the gift of happiness from working hard in the places God has me.
What’s Next
For Thursday, read Chapters 6 and 7.
Discuss
Head over here to join the conversation! If you haven’t already, be sure to take the Happiness Style Assessment at www.TheHappinessDare.com to discover your style!
Whether or not you scored highly as a Doer, God has wired each of us to experience the blessing of work. What tasks bring you the most happiness? Do they bring you in-the-moment happiness, residual happiness, or both?
Becky Keife is a storyteller, grateful grad student, and blessed mama to three spirited, dirt-loving boys. She is passionate about cultivating a heart of gratitude and shining light on God’s fingerprints in her life. As a writer and speaker, she loves encouraging women from an in-the-trenches perspective. Becky writes to slow time, give thanks, and awaken to God’s daily wonders and grace at beckykeife.com. Becky and her husband live in Southern California and love hiking sunny trails with their crazy boy crew.
Leave a Comment
Cherise says
I just took the test, and I’m a doer too! 🙂 Makes sense!
Becky Keife says
That’s great, Cherise! Welcome to the happy club of productivity. 🙂
Jennifer Dukes Lee says
Me too!
Jane Armour says
Glad to meet you, fellow Do-ears!
Becky Keife says
Happy to have you here, Jane!
Jane Armour says
Obuviously, the previous comment SHOULD have said Doers, NOT Do-ears!☺️
Becky Keife says
Haha, Jane. I gotch ya. 🙂 Though I kind like the idea of being a Do-ear—a Doer with Ears to hear what doing God wants for us rather than getting all caught up in our own. <3
Jennifer Dukes Lee says
I’m a doer too. And like Becky, I like the idea of having the EARS to hear what God wants us to do. 🙂
Beth Williams says
Becky,
Just took the dare and I’m a Giver! I should have known this as I get pleasure out of helping people and doing for others! ‘I can embrace how God designed me and lean into the gift of happiness… and contentment!
Blessings 🙂
Becky Keife says
I love that, Beth! Giver was my lowest score on the Happiness Style Assessment, which at first made me feel kinda like a jerk. 🙁 But I love how Jennifer emphasizes over and over again that God made each of us uniquely, we are a blend of all the styles, and we can celebrate how he made us AND how he made others. So I’m celebrating beautiful Giver you, Beth! xoxo
Elise says
Yes! What a gift it is to embrace the way God made us!
I love that you are willing to be who He created you to be — because you daily reflect Him in your doing!
I’m a Doer, too. Shocker.
I loved the assessment in The Happiness Dare – and each chapter that goes deeper into the different happiness styles! The insight helps me love others who are very different from me better.
Becky Keife says
Thank you for the encouragement, friend! Doers, unite! And yes, I totally agree…it’s so helpful to understand how the ones we love are wired. We can all reflect God’s goodness and nature in different, but beautiful ways!
Jennifer Dukes Lee says
So glad you’re on the journey, Elise.
Devi says
LOVE this post, Becky, and I love seeing the unique things that makes you (and other Doers) happy. I am so the opposite. I’m a thinker, but this gives me freedom to enjoy my unique happiness. I love that we are all so different, this is beautiful.
Jennifer Dukes Lee says
I agree, Devi. I love how God wired us differently.
Becky Keife says
Thanks, Devi! Yes, Jennifer’s book has also helped me find freedom in being who I am in Christ and experiencing happiness in the ways he wired me. I’m also high in Thinker and Experiencer, but not so much in Giver. I could feel bad about my happiness bent, or I can embrace it and shine godly happiness to the world around me. xoxo Thanks for being here, friend! I always appreciate your voice in the conversation.
Buffy says
Wow, I just finished reading Chapter 5 and even though I’m primarily a Relater, I enjoyed reading that “God has wired each of us to experience the blessing of work.” This is a chapter I plan to re-read so I can gain more perspective on my doing. I thought about all the work I’ve done in the last 2 days and to be honest, most of it I secretly complained about. However, I got a lot of joy from baking a loaf of sourdough bread yesterday (my 2nd attempt) that was actually pretty good. And yes, I always get satisfaction from a made bed. Also, I become ~cranky~ when I can’t get much of my to-do list accomplished and I feel a let-down…
Also, I believe that some of my extended family members are Experiencers, and I secretly shame them for paying for housecleaning, as they claim they’re not able to handle a vacuum cleaner — yet they take off to the beach or to a concert or a yard sale and have no problem navigating there. Some rarely cook (if at all) and love to eat in their cars or restaurants. So, I hope to learn how to relate to them. I know all work and no fun makes Jack a dull boy, but, I believe in a balance between work and play, right? Yes, “it is the joy of work well done that enables us to enjoy rest” and I can’t imagine not working at all. <3