Opening Doors...Do you have a framework?

By Matthew Whittle

Last month I was invited to share a few thoughts with a group of about 30 eighth-graders. They turned out to be a wonderful audience, but man it was intimidated. But since I think it went pretty well, I thought I would share just a little of our conversation with you. 

The theme of the day was “building,” so after we toured McNair Heights and talk about Habitat’s work building homes, community and hope, we turned our focus on what it means to build a framework for life – a framework built on a foundation of serving and making an impact on others, that’s made out of our strengths and the things we enjoy, but that’s also flexible enough to adjust to changing environments and realities.

And to help this hit home, I asked them – and now you – to write down a few things and reflect on them and maybe review them again in the future.

• What do you enjoy doing right now?

• Why do you do enjoy doing that thing? What is it that attracts you or gives you joy about doing it?

• What do you see as your top three strengths right now?

• What’s one thing you’re building right now that’s making a positive impact on others?

I think if you can answer those questions, you will start to see your framework taking shape.