When we think about our lives, we have a tendency to focus on the negative. What went wrong for us rather than what went right. We are so focused on our failures and our shortcomings that we often forget to celebrate our own successes. When reflecting on your life, may I encourage you to consider the whole?
When we consider the whole, our perspective shifts from lack to abundance. Rather than settling in on what we don’t have, we become more aware of what we do have. Most of us truly have successful lives, with a few failures mixed in. We are not failures because we have experienced failure, this simply makes us human.
Consider your relationships. Most of us have some failures along the way (no doubt I do), but that doesn’t make us a failure at relationships. When I consider the whole of my life, and the relationships I have, I can see the good in all of it. I can see why some friendships and romantic relationships fizzled out. Not everyone is intended to finish the journey with us, some are only around for a season. That is okay friends. Let people and situations be what they are, let them come and go as they naturally would. Don’t force them. I have some amazing friends in my life right now, most of which I have had for over a decade. That’s really pretty amazing when you step back and think about it. It’s all about where we place our focus.
Consider what you do for a living. Most of us don’t land in our dream job from the get go. We try out and fail a few times, switch jobs, or even completely switch careers. Some choices work out really well and some crash and burn but that’s just part of the natural flow of life.
Next time you are having a bad day and thinking negatively about where you are in life, may I urge you to consider the whole? Look at your entire life, not this tiny moment in time. You have done so many things well, don’t let a bad moment make a bad day, or a bad year make a bad life. We are not failures because everything didn’t go as we planned, we are really only failures if we aren’t trying. Statistically, if you are doing life right, you will experience moments of failure, but you are not a failure. Considering the whole will take you far.
