What Are You Looking For?

Life has a tendency to help you find what you are looking for. If you are looking for reasons to be scared or angry, you will likely find some. If you are seeking an excuse to be bitter or resentful, you’ll find that too. If you are exploring your case to be anxious, you will come across solid evidence. If you are searching for justification to lie, cheat or steal “just this once,” not doubt you will likely come across something to support that decision. If you are looking for proof that the world is out to get you and the odds are stacked against you, you will find that as well. If you are looking to prove you are a victim and helpless, you will likely build a strong case. And no matter how wonderful your spouse is, if you are trying to come up with reasons to be angry with him or her, I’ll bet you can identify at least a few things.

But on the other hand, if you are looking for reasons to be grateful, even if your life is a struggle at the moment, you’ll probably find at least a few. If you are trying to find the good in someone, even if that person makes your life difficult and rubs you the wrong way, eventually you will identify it. If you are pursuing reasons to be joyful and optimistic even in the midst of difficulty, you will likely be able to come up with something. If you are exploring ways to love the unlovable, you’ll discover them. And if you are looking for a “why” that wakes you up every morning with an excitement to serve others and make a difference, I am confident you can uncover that also.

Be careful what you look for in life, because you might just find it.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on...

The Art of Intentionality

“Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others’ choices make you.” – Richie Norton I am not even sure who Richie Norton is, but I love that quote! I imagine a ship drifting out to sea, pushed around by the wind and the waves. No course of direction, yet the captain is frustrated when the ship ends up dashed against the rocks, trapped on a sandbar or marooned on an inhospitable island. It is easy to complain when life takes us where we do not want to go. But who is really to blame if we have never set our sails to align us along an appropriate course? Do we blame the waves, wind and the weather? Or should we blame the captain of the ship? It is our life and our ship. We must set our sails with intentionality and determined choices. Otherwise, we are doomed to aimlessly drift along according to the choices and decisions of others.

The Hungry Lion

Early in my career, as I was struggling to both build up my clientele and provide food for my family, someone tried to encourage me by saying, “remember, the hungry lion hunts best.” At the time, that made sense to me. And it probably even provided some much-needed reassurance. But I have since come to think differently. I was a starving lion, and I learned a few things from the experience. Hungry lions get fatigued. They become desperate. They cut corners. They make unforced errors. But fed lions have their own issues. Their satiety can turn into selfishness. They get comfortable and then complacent. These lions do not hunt well either. I believe the lion who hunts best is not the hungry lion nor the satisfied lion, but rather the lion who hunts not for himself and his own hunger, but for the pride of lions around him. His drive is not his own need for nourishment; it is the hunger of those around him that motivates him. Our world is a hurting and hungry place. Not just ...

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog