Today it doesn’t work the way it once did, and suddenly you’re scrambling to determine the reason why. What changed? What gunked up the results? Was it sabotaged? Well, what if nothing changed? Then why isn’t it working the way it did earlier?
We’ve all had problems like this- from the kitchen to the office, from driving directions to m.p.g., and even to family situations—friendships sour. Tastes are changing. We are overloaded, overwhelmed, tired, and off our pace. Whatever. Challenges are faced every time something doesn’t work like it once did.
Argghh… I can hear a long-time gone friend say utter this phrase!
I’m analytical, so I like to determine the “why” and then “what” to do next, along with all the how’s, where, when, and who’s. That’s my nature. Not right away, you understand, but somewhere down the road, I’ll get it figured out if it’s important, of course.
My website hiccupped a week or so back. Suddenly, I’m not allowed to add a new post, so everything posted has been from my tablet and an app for the system. That worked. Why not from within my domain?
Argghh!
Voila! Eureka! I figured it out, and It’s fixed. Does it matter? Not to you, perhaps, but there are better platforms to write from than a simple app that doesn’t connect up to all the bells and whistles I’ve grown accustomed to enjoying.
How Do You Handle Challenges Like This?
We each come to problems differently than others. Sometimes a repeated situation will cause frustration because it’s happening again, or we fly through the repair because we’ve successfully faced it in the past. It’s almost like a balancing act between what will frustrate us or what we can safely ignore. Now, at other times, we don’t let the challenge slow us down. We’ve figured out the frustration level doesn’t matter, so we move on.
Equally, we arrive at answering questions differently… Have you ever considered answering a young person’s question, “why is the sky blue” or some other type of wonderment they are experiencing with something like, “Just because…?” They are never satisfied, and we should not be either. Seeking answers through valid questions is always a good way to know solid answers.
Spiritual Thinking
Around the block, we’ve been and have faced the same process in our spiritual walk. What we once focused on is producing different results. So, either we handle it, change, or let the lack of results handle us.
“Remember ye not the former things,
neither consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing;
now it shall spring forth;
shall ye not know it?
I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert.”
(Isaiah 43:18-19 KJV)
God wasn’t changing the rules as much as he was telling us to consider the impossibility. If we always judge the present by the past, we’ll always think results should be the same today as they were yesterday—life changes. We change. Situations change constantly. Even the times, well, they’re changing. But God never changes (Malachai 3:6). You don’t keep on doing yesterday’s tasks and expect the same results in today’s economy. Flow with the change of the times!
Live Life Expecting Challenges
If I treat every aspect of life as I’ve done in my employment arena, I’m willing to step back from the failure and determine a reason. It’s not for blame but for approaching future challenges better. When we seek to blame, then we are showing our weakness. We make failure about others and less about ourselves.
Someone said,
“Live life expecting challenges, and you’ll never be disappointed.”
Equally, I live life expecting the good, ready to face the bad, and dealing with setbacks with an analytical mind. Looking over my past, I see this time and again about myself. Though the sky may fall (Chicken Little), I see answers with resolve. If you tell yourself you can act better, then you will not be surprised when you do!