Happy Sunday Everyone:
There are two topics with Sunday Thoughts I try to stay away from, faith and politics. Politics, because in my opinion, it creates an unnecessary divide. Faith, because it’s something that’s personal to me and something I’ve always held relatively close to the vest unless someone wants to discuss it. So, as I say that, I would like to talk about something I read during my morning routine. Part of my routine has a component of faith, which for me, is to read the proverb of the day, it is simple and quick. I’ve always just read it, like so many other things I read, which means it’s more of a check the box then “what am I doing with this information?”. Recently I started to read them while trying to associate my life to what I’m actually reading. Taking this approach has proven to make this routine much more relevant in my daily life.
So Tuesday morning, I was doing my routine and I as I was reading the proverb of the day, I came across Proverb 24:10, and it read “If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small”. “If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small”….Yes, i wrote that twice for hopeful impact. This is where I wish you could all be in my brain. All of us have different pressures that are relevant and important to us. They might not be important to others but that doesn’t matter, if you feel “pressure”, what do you do with it? I probably shouldn’t edit the bible but if had written that same statement, i would have added “if I fail under pressure, my strength is too small, and my excuses too big”. My buddy Josh has it framed on his wall “pressure is a privilege”. I think that’s right. I can tell you from firsthand experience, when I’m weak of mind or weak of heart, my first response to pressure is excuse for failure. I start making excuses of why something isn’t going to work. I start justifying why something can’t be done, or get done. When I’m strong of mind, or strong of heart, my faith overcomes any fear I’m feeling from the pressure and the mindset shifts to “failure is not an option”.
Many people reading this are a part of our company, and our company was acquired. We are 30 days into transition and transition is not easy, in any way, shape, or form. It creates massive pressure for so many people, and on so many levels. From Tuesday to now, I’ve thought about Proverbs 24:10 at least 100 times. I keep thinking of me personally, and many of us collectively, and the need for my strength, and our strength, to be too big to fail under the pressure.
I know so many of my writings are around mindset. Mindset of fear vs. love. or the cow vs. the buffalo, or being an asset or a liability at all times of the day and all aspects of your life depending on how you choose to show up….I write about this stuff because it’s the stuff I’ve had to work through my whole life. I can think of examples of when my strength was too small and I failed under pressure and then justified the failure with excuses. I’m still working on all of it but I can sit here today and acknowledge to myself (and to you) that my strength is stronger than it’s ever been and pressures that may have crippled me at times in the past are truly starting to look like a privilege. Such a better way to go through life.
Just dawned on me as I’m finishing this up, the more pressure I accept, the less pressure i feel.