I was sharing with friends about the challenges of their (and my own) life and I noticed that God has gifted me with one primary thought, one Theme if you will.
The Theme du Jour is……………….. CHOICE
You will see it as a major theme in many of my posts. In fact I have dedicated a “Category” to CHOICE.
We are all gifted with the freedom to choose. God has given us free-will and it is exercised everyday when we choose to get up, choose our clothes to wear, and choose our breakfast cereal.
Let us take a step forward and figure out how this applies to YOU right NOW.
Today we will focus about surviving the Financial Crush….
Some of us… Heck… MOST of us, have been affected by the economic down-turn (pronounced ree-se-shun for the Republicans who can’t seem to figure it all out). We are the un-employed, UNDER-employed or otherwise struggling to make ends meet or at-least put food on the table and pay the rent / mortgage whilst we worry about the other items that aren’t being covered.
For many, it is easy to fall into that trap of giving up hope. The stress, the depression. Why do we try? I personally have fallen into this trap. I felt like less of a man because I valued my worth by what I can provide for myself and my family. I let the stress of those bills and other responsibilities cause me so much agony that I was unable to do anything that would move me forward…..
Realizations:
- You are POWERLESS to change the past. You can’t do it. No matter how much you TRY, how much you WISH or how much you PRAY the past WILL NOT CHANGE.
- There are some things that God just wont do… see #1
Wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which fills up first.
Acceptance: Here is the choice.
Let us look at number one. Bad things happen to nice people and all that rot. Life is not inherently fair. Accept it and move on. The history of the world will not change because we want it to, however, we can change how we react to the world.
** Editor’s note: There actually is a complete discussion on WHY bad things happen, it is not “chance” or spite. It has to do with our (humanity) nature and the effects of our actions on others. **
The bad news: I have had colossal failures in real-estate.
The good news is: I have LEARNED so much and have made so many contacts in the real-estate investment arena, I have discovered new tools for the real-estate investor and I am talking to investor groups who are looking for new projects. The world of cheap real-estate is back and I will have the opportunity to be a part of this new boom that will come when the market turns again.
The bad news: I am unemployed** and I am lacking a regular paycheck.
The good news is: I have spoken to 12 companies looking for a developer and project manager, I am home to help with the home-schooling of my nephew. I have time to explore the businesses and projects I am interested in and I can spend the time I need to build my relationships in my family and my religion. I have had the opportunity to be an involved parent and volunteer at school and for the kids at church. I am a very blessed man.
Notice the difference. I have CHOSEN to observe and appreciate the opportunities with which I have been presented. I am choosing to experience my life and not to wallow in it. I am not looking for the “light at the end of the tunnel”. In our lives there is light all around us and we are not stuck in the figurative tunnel unless it is all we choose to see.
I want to talk about my second point. But first I want to clarify something.
Prayer works. Call it wishing, positive thinking, purposed meditation. whatever you want, but prayer works.
You can be given strength, wisdom, power to persevere. These things work for what is going to happen. These things are applied to future effort, whether in 2 seconds or 2 days.
However, the only thing you can change about the past is how you view the past.
Realizations:
- Chances are, if YOU don’t change, then neither will YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
You can’t squeeze get blood from a stone.
Acceptance: Here is the choice.
I know I can’t squeeze blood from a stone. If I see blood on the stone, it is my own. If you are banging your head against the wall, stop! The wall will not budge that way. Any act performed in anger, frustration or fear will not yield a lasting, beneficial result. Actions performed in negativity will eventually result in a negative response. In contrast, actions performed with love, faith, and joy will always yield a positive, long lasting result. If you are at work, choose to perform your duties to the best of your ability. Do that work with JOY in your heart and you will be rewarded. Sure everyone has bad days, but release that negative emotion and choose to show your full potential.
I am working on a project that I know will eventually sell and pay me for my efforts. I had been negative about it because the technology is new, it has caused me days of frustration and I greatly dislike the amount of work I have to do and that I am not yet getting paid for. But I choose to release this energy and focus on the good this product can perform. When finished, this product will be used to benefit charities, hospitals, and employ many people. I focus on these facts and I will continue the work with faith, love and joy.
Realizations:
- God often helps those who help themselves.
Simply put, “To have something you have never had, you’ll have to do something you’ve never done.”
Acceptance: Here is the choice.
These last two sayings are synonymous. The Universe is abundant and God will provide. These are simple explanations of Universal Laws and truths. However the one law everyone forgets is: For every Action there is an Equal (type) and Opposite (direction) reaction. Simply put: If I do nothing, nothing will happen and if I put forth negative actions, negative (Equal) re-actions will happen TO ME (Opposite). However, If I put forth POSITIVE actions, POSITIVE re-actions will happen FOR ME!
There is this old joke that I think really illustrates the point. I did not write it but if someone knows who did I will appropriately tag it.
This man keeps praying and praying to God that he would win the lottery. He goes to church and prays. He lights candles and prays. He prays before meals and bedtime. Then one day he is sitting alone on the edge of a cliff. He is preparing to jump and is complaining that God never helped him. He even goes so far as to say he never won the lottery. Suddenly an angel flies down with a message from heaven… _-= BUY A TICKET !!! =-_
Conclusions:
- If you want something you have never had, you should Do something you have never done.
If you are unhappy with the results today than find a way to better your effort. It may be with the application of Love and Joy to your efforts.
- Work smarter and not harder.
- Appreciate of your gifts and talents and use them for your personal and professional fulfillment.
- You can NOT change your past but you can change your reactions and thus change your future.
- Above all, nothing is hopeless. Have faith in the positive and be positive about that faith.
I like to remind myself: “the last 30 minutes of being good-looking and broke didn’t kill you and neither will the next 30.”
Remember that forward motion is always happening. You will never have to repeat the last minute, hour, day, week, etc.. over again. You have survived it all and it will all will be OK if you choose keep on trying.
Next time, I will rant about choice within our relationships. I will rant about relationships with our partners, parents and children..
** = Since writing this article, I have become fully employed, (see below) and my other projects.
Thank you for reading and for comments…
– Be Yourself, Be Well, and Be Loved,
May Jesus have His way with your day
He is Founder and consultant for Tek Management,
Founder of the Men’s Leadership site: CalebStrong.org,
Co-Founder of the online Bible study app: BibleCounts
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
© 2008-2021: All content on this and other pages within the TekMan family of domains are the specific intellectual property of the owner of the site, Tek Management and/or TheStrongFoundation.org.
Content may be reused or reproduced according to the licensing restrictions without the specific permission of the owner or a reference to the source as per the licensing restrictions found at the link above.
Opinions of the authors may be generated from content obtained from other sources and such content is referenced as appropriate.