The Ups and Downs…
Pikes Peak, Summit in Colorado
Lately I have been having some really good things happen, and then soon after, something not so good. It seems like life has had to keep itself balanced recently. That is both good and bad. Go figure right?
I am not sure about you, but I am ready for things to just go well. I am sick and tired of going back and forth between good and bad, happy and sad, and blessed and damned. Honestly a lot of that is my fault. I will start doing something to affect my life positively, but then soon after I have been almost sabotaging myself. I am not really sure why I keep doing it either.
For instance, in the men’s group I was in, we had to give up something for the challenge in addition to the other restrictions already in place from the challenge. I gave up sweets and soft drinks. That went well for the first few weeks, then a family gathering for Easter derailed my efforts because I was weak. I didn’t want to be weak, it just happened. Then once I messed up once, I kept messing up, until the thought of giving those things up wasn’t even a part of my day anymore.
It only took one moment of weakness to cut my efforts to complete the challenge short. I failed because I was weak. I was not strong enough to control my temptations. It was really a profound realization for me. I normally cause the ups and downs in my life. I cause a lot of the problems in my life. I actively choose to not focus on the solutions to those problems and only focus on the problems themselves.
The times when my life is going the best normally have a few things in common:
First, I am typically actively trying to better myself. It could be eating better, working out, reading the bible, or even just working on my mindset.
Secondly, I reject the idea of problems controlling my life. When I choose to focus on solutions, things normally work out better.
Lastly, I am not doing life alone. I will be confiding in others and seeking wisdom from people I trust. I know I don’t know everything or have everything figured out, even though sometimes I try to lie to myself that I do.
As you can see, they all follow the same theme, taking steps to make things better. You have to be the one to boost yourself up instead of sabotaging yourself. That’s just the truth. I will be working on making myself stronger to resist the various temptations in my life. I want my life to quit bouncing up and down. I want it to stay in the good range. I’m sure you want yours to do the same.
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.” – Ephesians 5 : 15