I was blown away. What would have undoubtedly brought me to tears just two years ago? Today brought a smile to my face, and what would have most likely made me probably leave this sanctuary back in love, brought an indescribable peace to my soul this morning in a week ago? Let me explain. Four or five years ago I found myself torn between goals that I hadn't fulfilled somewhere else, and the blessing of being husband and a dad who was fully present. Have you ever found yourself in that uncomfortable in-between space, between where you are, and where you feel like you need to be? I absolutely have. I've long had a goal and a dream, and an unmistakable purpose in my soul to serve and to inspire. And while I appreciated the job that I had attacked at the Health Sciences Center and I love my students, I knew deep down in my heart that I needed to be doing more. I wanted to impact more lives. I'd hope that would be in love with me. My school was growing, and I was sure that I would get a chance to be a new vice-provost. That would have allowed me to grow in a serve without having to move and disrupt life from my family. And unfortunately, the Lord had other plans. I started to realize that first when one of the high-ranking leaders at the school that I'd hoped to work for brought in someone from his previous institution to fill the role that I legitimately thought had been created just for me. Not only did I not get the job, I wasn't even interviewed. Imagine my surprise and my shock when I had applied, essentially counting the days down until I would get a promotion, didn't hear anything, so I logged in to the HR application portal, and there I saw it in all caps, bright red letters, bold, company not interested. After a decade and a half, and a position that I thought was mine, I didn't even get an email. Company not interested. So trying to see the purpose in it all, I regrouped. I worked for three solid years after that, often volunteering to serve that same guy who got the job that I thought was mine, and I was trying to build a teaching and learning center for my institution. After several meetings over several months, I finally requested a formal meeting to Fishercut Bay. Let's ask him officially, is this proposal of mine ever going to get a chance to really exist? I was understandably nervous about it, put on my best suit tie, I was prepared with a full color proposal, I was confident that this was either my moment to shine or to know without a doubt that this was never going to happen. Before we could even begin the discussion, he dismissed me. Hope he didn't dress up for my sake, he said. We chatted briefly, but he reiterated that he didn't know when, if ever, my proposal would ever be formally considered. A friend, I would be lying if I told you anything other than I stepped out of that meeting, absolutely devastated. And not long after I was angry, I was live it, actually. My kids had grown up in Lubbock, this was home. Why would God allow me to have to continue to be passed over for a job that I knew in my heart I was made to do? Or why would he make me move to have to do it? I have a spot that I visit even to this day when we go back to Lubbock, where I would think, pray. Honestly, I have it out of God. To little lake in a neighborhood not far from our home, 15 years, and I would usually run or walk and somehow end up at that same spot by that lake with the fountain. And at the end, I have it out of God. Why would you let me suffer like this? Why can't you allow me to serve? Why aren't doors opening? Why do I have to move just to feel fulfilled? My kids love it here, it's home. My wife loves it here, her job is here. And over time, I grew embittered. I was praying for something to change when it just wouldn't. I applied to hundreds of other jobs. I tried to find remote work. I didn't want to leave Lubbock, but I knew I had outgrown the spot where I was. In the early spring of 2024, I saw a dream job come up. Not only was there a center like I'd been trying to build at the HSC for more than four years, already up and running a bailer, they were hiring. My son Tay was said to graduate in May. The job would start in June or July. The timing was perfect. The job was a dream. I applied immediately. I interviewed and I got it. From company not interested in all red caps a couple years earlier, to we are pleased to offer you on a letter head in Baylor Green. Now I'm not going to lie, the change has not been easy. In fact, there are days when the distance between Waco and Lubbock and the miles between that daughter and that son that we had to leave behind feels like I'm here to Jupiter. But I have every confidence that this was the something more that was coming, that all the while I was too impatient to wait for. So that's why this morning I could not help but smile as the praiseman sang out these lyrics from their song, Fallow Ground. I know it, my heart can understand the measures you are in love. You know, I wish I could tell you in the midst of that purpose storm that I was strong enough and brave enough and wise enough to have said something just like that. Unfortunately, I didn't. I was hurting. I was sulking. I was pouting. Sometimes going weeks between petal and prayers. I just could not fathom why God was leaving me to suffer. And as it turns out, that's because he wasn't. I wasn't being punished. I was being prepared. So in this bridge hit this morning in worship. I heard in those words of the song the heart of God that I felt like had been pinned just for me. Sometimes we just need to wait. If I had my way, I would have rushed to any of a hundred jobs just to make my ego feel better to run somewhere that wanted me to go from company not interested to company interested. But it just wasn't time. Instead, we stayed put in love. And my son had a magical senior year at Leibov Christian finishing state runner up in football, first team all state and baseball state champion at band and the daughter her junior year. I got to be with her. I got to have lunch with her. Got to go to her concerts and hear her sing. I'd have probably missed all that. But God said, just wait, shut up and wait. The heart and ground of my heart needed to heal. Something more with coming. Today, I have a job at a university that honestly I love. I have the most phenomenal class of 16 young professionals who I hope are listening to this right now to know what a blessing each and every one of them has been to me. Because I get to go all in teaching and talking and discussing not just the what of aesthetic training, but the how the virtues that inform the people they are becoming. And that's no longer forbidden. It's encouraged. Something more was coming. And in that moment this morning, I was absolutely overcome, not with bitterness, not with fear, not with regret, not with anger, not with animosity. I was thankful. Welcome back to the Professors Playbook where we break down complex topics and aesthetic training, sports medicine, and movement science into practical, applicable knowledge. I'm Dr. Shoby Rooks. Today we're diving deep into a virtue that's easy to understand, but infinitely hard to master. Truthfulness in the clinic, in the classroom, in life. If you're tuning in to becoming undone, sometimes I cross post these. So sharing this one with my audience over there as well. I hope you'll enjoy. What does it really mean to be truthful? Not just not lying, but actually living a life aligned with your truth. That's what we're unpacking today. We'll talk about the difference between truth and cruelty, explore how data integrity and documentation practices tied directly to our character and ultimately how truthfulness can build or break trust in our leadership. Let's get into it. We tend to think of truthfulness as simple. Just don't lie, and that's easy enough, right? But in the Greek, the word for truthfulness is alicia, which literally means unconcealed, not just being honest, but living unhidden. Truthfulness isn't about what we say. It's about who we are. Our actions align with our values, do our decisions, reflect our intentions, our our relationships, built on trust, our own performance. Truthfulness is a habit of aligning our words, our actions, and our intentions with reality. And like all virtues, truthfulness lives between two extremes, so-called goals and mean. On one side, we have the vice of deficiency, and that's dishonesty. This one's obvious, misleading patience, faking documentation, saying what others want to hear even when it's not right. It erodes our trust and our moral authority. Now, who among this has not shared a little white lie? But within that comes a vice of deficiency. On the flip, the vice of excess, and that's brutal candor. People that just keep it real, right? The kind of, I'm just being honest attitude, that wields truths like a weapon. Unfiltered feedback can crush more than it helps, and it's sharing facts without empathy or timing. Real truthfulness is about balance, speaking truth with humility, courage, and compassion. So let's apply truthfulness and practice. Break this down for the real world. What does it look like to practice truthfulness in our work as healthcare professionals? First in care decisions. Acquired documentation. If we didn't ride it down, it didn't happen. Our documentation has to reflect what really occurred, not what should have happened, or what you think happened. This builds both legal and ethical credibility. It also means transparent communication. Patients deserve the truth about their condition. Even when that's uncomfortable, telling the truth in kindness is still telling the truth. We don't want to hide behind thinly veiled euphemisms. And then lastly, it's integrity under pressure. When mistakes happen and they will, we have to own them. We have to correct them. We earn more trust by being honest than by pretending to be perfect. Number two, leadership and team culture. First, we've got authenticity. We want to be the same person in private as we are in public. Our team can see through that mask, consistency builds respect. It also means feedback with care. Yeah, we should be honest with students and colleagues, but couch it in encouragement. You've heard of the correction sandwich where there's something positive with the correction in the middle, followed by something positive. We don't want to crush the spirit in the process. And then lastly, courage and advocacy. Sometimes truthful of this means standing up for what's right, even when it's risky. Speaking up, when it's easier to stay silent, that's leadership. Now, let's connect this to our second key focus. Data-driven decision-making and information management. But here's the thing, data is only as good as the integrity of the person collecting it. We live in a world that is increasingly running on data. Asleep performance metrics, injury reports, treatment plans, progress tracking, what happens if that data isn't accurate? If it's not truthful. What happens when notes are copied forward from yesterday without updates? When reports are rounded up to make progress look better? When negative outcomes aren't recorded because it might make us look bad. It sounds like minor stuff, until it's not. Our credibility as a clinician and as a leader, honestly, it's rooted in our integrity. If our records aren't reliable, our decisions won't be either. It's not the same perfect. It's not to say you're perfect. You will make mistakes. I know I sure have, but as I continue to grow when I say continue to try to work through this season, I recognize that I want to do it with integrity. Truthfulness in our systems equals trustworthiness in our leadership. So let's recap today's Playbook, Truthfulness isn't just telling the truth, it's living truthfully. Aligning our words, our actions, and our intentions with reality. It lives in the balance between deception and brutality. There's a happy medium to be had there. And in our work, truthfulness shows up in clear communication, accurate documentation, ethical leadership, and transparency under pressure. In your day to practices, truthfulness ensures that your decisions are anchored in what is, not what you wish they were. So here's a challenge this week. Audit one area of your life for truthfulness. Maybe it's your documentation practices for your healthcare professional. Maybe it's a tough conversation you've been up with. Maybe it's just a self-check on whether what you say matches who you are. When no one's watching. Take one area, name it, and run. If you found today's episode useful, be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review. You can connect with me at link tr.e, backslash, Toby Brooks PhD, or leave a review on Apple Podcasts Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Got a new website hopefully launching this week at TobyBrooks PhD.com. Honestly, I hate having to use that PhD at the end to feel petty, but unfortunately that domain was taken. So we get what we get, we don't throw fit. Your feedback helps shape the direction of the show, and I'm grateful for your insights. Thanks again for tuning in to Professor's Playbook, those of you that are joining from Becoming Undone. Till next time, be purposeful, be relentless, never stop learning. And this week, especially, rely on your life with truth, but above all else. Listen to your stinking professor.
