Have you ever noticed how easy it is to witness things in other people that we may be unable to see in ourselves? Spot it you got it! I find it useful when I see things like this in others to ask myself, how and where is this true for me also?
Upon deeper soul-searching, I’m realizing that often I have given in to a spirit of disappointment because that’s so familiar, rather than approach my days from a place of vulnerable hope and trust. If things don’t go my way, disappointment can be harder to take, especially if I allowed myself to have really high hopes. In order to manage disappointment, I have often kept my hopes low.
Years ago, I saw a metaphor of how I was living my life. It was like I walked around holding an umbrella up all the time. If it was raining, it shielded me from getting wet. The problem was, I kept the umbrella up even on sunny days, ever ready to embrace the future storms of life. This way, not even the first raindrop would catch me off guard. My umbrella also kept people from getting too close to me, to minimize my chances of being hurt by them.
Unfortunately, this defense mechanism also blocked the sun from touching me. We can’t block out only the negative when we put a big shield around us. We block out the light also.
Have you ever purposely kept your hopes low? Do you frequently feel disappointment? Have you believed that staying on guard or even mildly discouraged is a safer, less risky approach to life? How is that working for you? It hasn’t worked too good for me.
Disappointment, discouragement, defeat. What if I suggested that each of those feelings are a state of choice? They may start out from a legitimate hurt, but then we agree to take them on and perpetuate those feelings indefinitely. We invite the three D’s to live with us permanently, to the degree we see them as part of us, rather than optional states of mind.
Does any of this hit home for you? Are you willing to consider that the 3 D’s, when adopted as a way of being, are self-defense mechanisms purposely chosen to keep oneself safe from additional let down? None of us want to hear that.
But I didn’t…
But this happened…
But I lost…
But he took…
But she said…
But…
But…
Author Richard Bach said, Argue for your limitations and sure enough they're yours.
What we justify, we invite more of. Some excuses are really not worth fighting for.
What would it look like to walk in a spirit of expectancy? As if you knew today was the day that everything was going to go your way? That all stoplights will be green, the weather will be whatever you need, you finally get that promotion, your kids achieve greatness, your invention is purchased for millions, your book becomes a best-selling success, and your finances multiply in unexpected ways.
How would you approach THAT day, if you knew in advance all the great things that were going to happen?
I’m challenging myself and you to approach every day with the same spirit of expectancy. Expect to find favor and blessing from the least of things to the greatest. How much better would our days go with our hearts and arms wide open, inviting all goodness to find us? Regardless of what really happens, how great would a day like that feel?
The honest truth, my friends, is that we are choosing our life posture every single day, whether it’s a conscious choice or not. Take a good hard look. Which approach to your day is usually your default? A readiness to embrace disappointment, or being watchful and expectant of favor?
Today, just as an experiment, put on a spirit of expectancy. Look for the gifts! Be like a child on their birthday or Christmas morning. Grab a piece of paper or start a note on your phone. Every time something delights you, surprises you, feels like favor, from the smallest gifts to the miraculous, write it down. At the end of the day, review your list of gifts. Contemplate how your overall mood was throughout the experiment.
The best lives are lived with exploration and experimentation. Yes, that involves risks, but it also involves reward. I’m putting down my umbrella today to find and enjoy all the gifts. Will you join me?
Need an anthem song for today, and something to get your groove on? If you're into gospel funk, check out this song I'm playing on repeat these days. It's
Blessings on Blessings by Anthony Brown and group therAPy. Enjoy! BONUS: Need a free copy of
Finding the Gift? Put a
short video clip in our FTG Readers Group of you jamming to this song and I'll send you a FREE book. If more than one person takes me up on that, well, great! I have plenty of books and I can't wait!
