Monday, August 27, 2012

Is high-anxiety preventing you from letting go of the outcome?

If you’re like me, you may find yourself living about two months in the future.  As much as I tell myself that “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift”, I just can’t shake the need to concern myself with things yet to come.  It is a fact that most of what we worry about never comes true.  I believe that much of what people worry about and much of the cause for living in the future comes from fear (False Expectations Appearing Real: F.E.A.R.).  When we help others improve their performance, work ethic, discipline, motivation, and execution of a strategy, we often start with the mind (yes – it’s a terrible thing to waste).  Why the mind?  Because the mind is where doubt and fear first enter the body as an inhibitor to our productiveness.  When we learn to let go of the outcome, we can then concentrate on our task at hand.  How often do you quit because in your mind you believe the outcome will be something less desired?  Do you avoid making that phone call because you believe that, ‘you’re imposing’ or that you might say something wrong?  Or worse yet, what if somebody doesn’t like you and rejects you?  There is no such thing as a great plan, there are just good plans, executed.  The difference between success and failure is persistence and execution. 

5 things to do for enjoying the gift of today:
1.         Identify the value of who you are
2.         Understand how you make a difference in people’s lives
3.         Develop deep, open relationships with people (tear down this wall…)
4.         Volunteer in service projects that help people in much less fortunate circumstances than you
5.         Provide encouragement for someone else each day

Monday, August 20, 2012

Do circumstances define you, or do you define your circumstances?

A couple years ago I traveled to the Favelas (slums) of Sao Paulo Brazil with a small team of individuals.  Our church has a partnership with an organization called Restoration Ministries down there and our six person team got to serve along side them for 10 days.  The first couple days were the hardest as we went into some pretty dangerous neighborhoods.  These are places where there is much violence, drug dealing, and darkness.  I was told that as long as we stayed in groups and identified ourselves with Restoration Ministries, we had nothing to worry about.  The ministry had an arrangement with the drug lords in four neighborhoods, which allowed us to go in and spend time with the families and children who lived in these areas.  We would spend the morning conducting a 90-minute program for the children performing songs and playing games, we had a lot of fun.  We then walked the streets and visited the homes of these children to form a connection with the entire family, which then allowed us to care for needs that they had.  We met a lot of people, prayed continuously, and felt more love from the impoverished than by most people you’d run into here in the US.  One thing I learned (in addition to God’s grace) is that circumstances do not define who we are. 

We met a woman who must have been in her 60’s that found out a member on our team was having a birthday.  She told us (though a translator) to come back in two hours for cake.  We came back later that afternoon, and this wonderful person who lived in a tiny dwelling, went to all her neighbors until she had what she needed to make a cake.  Her home was very dirty and probably far from being FDA compliant – but she produced a birthday cake.  One thing I learned in a course on mission work is that it’s very rude to reject something that is being offered to you while you’re in someone’s home.  So we ate – and it was great.  I believe what made this one of the best birthday cakes I’ve ever had was not the cake itself, but by the care and thoughtfulness of the one who gave it to us.  She was smiling and singing and so happy that we were there that her exuberance was contagious! 

What's defining you and how canyou change your outlook on uncertainty and struggle?

Friday, August 17, 2012

People, what are they?

I’ve discovered that most folks have a difficult time articulating why they like, or dislike, other people.  “It’s just a feeling I get when I first meet someone” is a typical response.  I’ve worked with “a lot” of people over the years in many different capacities.  After a while you begin to study human behavior and personality traits and make attempts to understand ‘who’ you’re dealing with.  We’ve all taken the self inventory assessments like Strength Finder, DISC, Myers-Briggs, etc.  However, can you truly understand yourself, your spouse, your children, or people you interact with by reading the results of an assessment?  I believe these are respectable screening tools that give us exterior information, but if you really want to know a person, it takes time and some really good questions.  In sales, we call it “discovery” – in life we call it “seeking depth in a relationship”.  There are many who are just fine being hidden away from society and providing little depth and insight to others.  They’re typically those who look like they have it all together and give the appearance that life couldn’t be grander.  But deep down, through the layers, through the noise, through the public image, we often find the pain.  This is the foundation of healing - where light pierces the dark.

What do you have buried away, afraid to discover?  What’s preventing you from enjoying the gift of today?