WORK x LUMBER-MILLS: when the experience transcends the task

I walk into my local lumber-mill and I’m immediately transported to a place unlike any other. Like many, I’ve historically defaulted to purchasing lumber from a big box store. It’s not until I started shopping for wood from a lumber-mill, that I appreciated wood for what it is, the beauty it has and its unmatched natural essence. Stepping onto a lumber-mill you’re surrounded by an experience that engages all your sense. It’s truly transformative.

We’ll get back to the lumber-mill in just a bit, but first we need to talk about work. Work is the thing that we all do…damn near all-day, every day. We show up to our job, punch the clock, do the thing, go home…rinse and repeat. For a few lucky individuals, this routine is their reason for being. Their happiness, value and purpose are realized at work, but for the rest of us, this isn’t the case. As I’ve written about previously, much of our life is determined by financial decisions. We navigate life balancing our financial demands with our inherent joys. In my last article, I noted that when the pendulum starts to swing out of proportion our happiness comes into question. Too much joy without financial stability, the stresses of making ends meet creep in. Over indexing on pursuing financial gains leads to a life without meaning. Walking this tightrope is all in pursuit of a life described in positive psychology as flourishing.

Flourishing was first introduced by Dr. Martin Seligman. He sought to reimagine what happiness means. Rather than the absence of sadness and misery, he contends that joy in our lives is not a result of a lack of misery but rather results through engagement in activities that both express and produce the actualization of one’s potential. As Dr. Lynn Soots describes it:

Flourishing is the product of the pursuit and engagement of an authentic life that brings inner joy and happiness through meeting goals, being connected with life passions, and relishing in accomplishments through the peaks and valleys of life. (1)

Seligman argues that flourishing is realized through 5 key ingredients. He identifies PERMA as the core to pleasure and gratification (2):

P – Positive Emotion: hope, interest, joy, love, compassion etc

E – Engagement: flow, in the zone

R – Positive Relationships: supported, loved, valued

M – Meaning: belonging and / or serving something greater than ourselves

A – Accomplishments: achievements, mastery, competence

As this model suggest, happiness in life is not a singular variable. We find joy and live a flourishing life when we live a multi-dimensional existence.

Are you loved? Do you find yourself being “lost in the music”? Do you have hope? Are you part of something bigger than yourself? Can you highlight meaningful accomplishments?

When I reflect on these questions, I believe that my life has elements of each of these. When I then reflect on these questions through the lens of work, I don’t know that I can honestly correlate my work and my happiness. Let me say this again, my happiness, my joy and my flourishing life does not result from my job. Please note that this does not mean that I don’t enjoy what I do; rather, it means that I have separated my being from my profession. It has taken me a long time to come to this realization. I searched and expected my everything to be defined and realized by my employment. Once I let go of this, I allowed myself to see what my relationship with my job is and what my existence in this world truly means (at least I’m working on understanding this meaning).

At this point, I’m starting to forget what this has to do with the lumber-mill, so I can only imagine what y’all are thinking. Please bear with me, we will reemerge from the rabbit hole with clarity, soon enough.

I have always been a person who is not keen on calling for help or resigning to the idea “I can’t”. As Steve Jobs said, “Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it.” I’ve latched onto this belief. If someone else can do it, then I can do it too. Through this belief, I’ve started to find my ‘flourishing’.

About 2 years ago, my family and I moved back to my hometown of Lewisburg, PA. We moved to a great property with a home that has a ton of potential. But potential is only as valuable as one’s willingness to see it realized. Unlocking my homes potential required me to unlock my own potential and in doing so, I’ve started to tap into the moments that bring true joy, which brings us back to the lumber-mill.

As my wife and I started digging into various home projects, we both agreed that we wanted our home to feel special e.g. pride realized through our own efforts. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work. We transformed our home in many ways from a house with potential to a project that taps into all the facets of PERMA.

Positive emotion – the pride and love that we have in our home far exceeds the day we moved in.

Engagement – when I am deep into a project, milling up wood, engrossed in the moment I find that everything else disappears. I’m finding my flow. (Note: to learn more about ‘flow’ checkout the writings from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

Positive relationships – often, Lauren and I will be asked “you’re doing a project with your spouse, are you looking for a divorce?” We have found where each of our strengths begin and end. I respect her for everything that she brings and vice versa. Our time spent working together fosters a stronger relationship, making our marriage more than a coexistence.

Meaning – enter the lumber-mill. Nature is all around us but it’s not until you work with it, smell it, shape it that that you can fully appreciate the gift that is mother nature. We are part of something bigger. I encourage you all to visit a lumber-mill. Walk amongst the various species for wood, touch them, smell them. It’s an unmatched experience.

Accomplishments – Learning, growing, stretching, making and creating, few moments in life have offered such a dynamic and fulfilling sense of achievement

We all know the adage, “everything happens for a reason”. Moving to Lewisburg has not been without regret. We left a life where we grew deep roots. That notwithstanding, I think that this relocation has resulted in growth and realization of untapped joy that would have otherwise not been brought to bear. Its moments like this when I’m reminded of the Latin phrase “virescit vulnere virtus – courage grows strong at a wound”.

Despite questioning if our move was the right decision, life has progressed forward and I would say that by in large, we are better for it.

I HAVE GROWN.

MY WIFE HAS GROWN.

WE HAVE GROWN.

I have unlocked new skills. I have found new meaning. I have become a better person. Am I living a flourishing life? I don’t know. But I do know that the more time I spend at the lumber-mill the closer I will get to realizing a life filled with pure joy.

A few pictures from various projects we've done.

(1)https://positivepsychology.com/flourishing/ (2)https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/