Daily Inspiration 1-2-13

"Problems give meaning to life. . .

 

We all have a tendency all of our lives to want

to get rid of problems and responsibilities.

When that temptation arises, remember the youth

who was questioning a lonely old man.

"What is life's heaviest burden?" he asked.

The old fellow answered sadly,

"Having nothing to carry."

 

-- John C Maxwell

from Developing the Leader Within You

We probably all discovered that our problems didn't evaporate at midnight on New Year's Eve. Probably as soon as we opened our eyes yesterday and saw the new day of the new year, we realized that nothing really changed. That would be cool though.

As I was perusing through my library to find a great quote, I was drawn to one of my favorite John C Maxwell books published in 1993, Developing the Leader Within You, and as I came to the page with the heading, problems give meaning to life, I thought it was perfect.

We are so well trained to think of problems as something to solve, overcome, deal with, stew about, make lists of, and generally mess with. It is as if they are attackers from the outside evil regime and we are defending the motherland and we have to analyze and overcome the odds and succeed. Or, at least to succeed is the hope.

But what if we started thinking a new thought about problems. What if we started thinking how they add value to our lives, how they help us grow and become more than we were? How about if we got excited about a problem and began thanking God for such an opportunity as this? What if instead of a problem being a problem, it was an opportunity instead? What if we secretly looked forward to problems as if they were Christmas presents in a beautiful bright package?

This is something we can change for the new year. We can begin to see our problems as opportunities, and how they do and will benefit us as we enjoy the experiences they bring.


I Have The Most Powerful Tool At My Constant Disposal. I Have The Power To Change My Thinking.

Spread Some Joy Today--Try one of my favorite lines I use a lot. "Have I told you I love you lately?" It is magic!