Are you on the wrong path?

There is often a change that happens between childhood and adulthood. We go from dreaming of thriving to settling on surviving.

Somewhere in the transition of life we fell for a lie that we are trapped in our current situation with no exit. 

The doors are locked with phrases like: It's always been done this way. I'm too old to change. I'm too broken to dream again. I'm too addicted to quit. 

Maybe we have been traveling the same road for far too long. A shift in direction would seem like a loss. We've invested time, energy, and emotion into this path and leaving it means failure. 

I get it. I have invested myself in the wrong things. I have spent years chasing after realities that weren't for me to be realized. I tried to measure success by other's standards. I have failed or so I thought until I realized my story isn't finished. It's still being written. So is yours. 

So what if we have been been walking in circles wondering through the wilderness! That was yesterday, but today we can chart a new course. We can declare a Do Over! 

No longer is changing courses when needed seen as failure? It is seen as leadership. Stephen Covey puts it like this: "A leader is the one who climbs the tallest trees, surveys the entire situation, and yells, 'Wrong jungle!'"

So if you don't like results of your past wanderings, why not make today the day you chart a new course? 

I know it sounds scary, but it really comes down to making one decision for the better and building on it. 

Remember you are still writing your story. Make it a good one. 

It's Not About You.

 

It's not about you. That's the opening line from Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life.

Even though it has been roughly eight years since I first read those words, they still resonate in my mind. However instead of being a reminder of my purpose, they have become a warning about my thinking. 

You may suggest that this makes me shallow. I may agree. Yet I believe one's thinking is directly related to the success in fulfilling one's purpose. 

I must confess that my thinking has been known to be broken from time to time leaving me in desperate need of the reminder that is isn't about me. 

So what has caused this flawed thinking? I believe the answer is insecurities which are the adversary to a healthy mind. 

Insecurities misinterpret comments, misread looks, and misunderstand actions. Then they create a new story to tell. A warped story with too much drama and not enough balanced perspective. A story that raises me higher or pushes me lower than I really am. Either way the story always revolves around me which is a clear sign that I'm off track. Because we all know that it's not about me. 

Will I ever get this right? 

Maybe not, but I can be better.

Here are a few steps I am in the process of taking to help:

• Dismiss thoughts that someone is against me unless they have come to me directly to express this.
• Resist the urge to get offended by comments, looks, actions, or social media rants that are not directly (like using my name directly) for me. 
• Focus on my work without comparing it to others. 
• Remember that I'm just a small piece of the puzzle we call life.
• Honor God with all I have.

Will you join me? Let's quite the insecurities and win back our thoughts.