No matter who you are, waiting is difficult. There was a famous social experiment done with children that involved them waiting. If they were able to successfully wait and not take the marshmallow, they would be rewarded with two when the adult came back. In the above video we see one version of the marshmallow experiment. You can see the weight of the waiting on the faces of some of the children. I feel their pain, the wondering of how much longer do I have to resist temptation. When will this wait end? Is the wait even worth it when I have something I want in front of me right now? Apply these questions to the thing you are currently waiting for. Are you going to be able to bear the weight of the wait? What do you need to be able to wait longer? Do you need God’s assurance? Do you need people around you who can support your commitment to wait? Do you need to be distracted from the temptation in front of you? What will allow you to wait and not be so agonized about it? The answer is going to be different for different people, but ultimately each person who waits needs to be confirmed in their heart that what they are waiting for is worth the wait. Whatever you are waiting for, don’t wait alone. Find a group that will support you so that you don’t give into the temptation of the now, the immediate gratification. Stay focused on the better that waits for you and doing grow weary in waiting. If you want to talk to someone about your particular wait, seek out your pastor, a trusted advisor, mentor or coach. I consult with busy, overwhelmed women who are trying to move forward professionally. There is a lot of waiting in professional pursuits also, let us talk if you are feeling the weight of waiting for your professional success.
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I like fried eggs, the look of the yellow yolk so clearly defined in the middle of a white cloud with a slightly crisp edge. I like scrambled eggs, the soft almost custardy texture of the eggs. I dislike eggs that are scrambled-fried. How do we get scrambled-fried? By not being able to maintain the integrity of the fried egg so you then scramble the egg. As I pondered my breakfast I wondered why a scrambled-fried egg bothered me so much. Surely it was edible. It was composed of two nutritious eggs that had been cooked. So what if the original goal of seeing them fried had been abandoned as they began to stick to the pan and break up. So what if I had decided to just scramble them mid cooking, after seeing that they could not be salvaged as perfectly cooked fried eggs. Yet I still looked at them with disappointment, trying to decide whether to discard them or eat them. The look of them screamed failure. They were not what I had originally envisioned when I started. It had gone wrong, and my attempt to salvage had produced a product that was not palatable to my eye, as my eye was still aligned with my mind and seeing what it should have looked like. The thought of discarding the egg, a wasteful and foolish thought, still had appeal because of the depth of my disappointment, and the greatness of my desire to have what I originally envisioned. I put my creation between two slices of warm buttered toast and took a bite. To my surprise, it tasted like fried eggs. That distinct fried flavor I had been craving; the look of it hidden between the slices of bread. So I was glad I didn’t discard it. I wonder how many things are discarded because we just get disappointed that it didn’t turn out exactly as we envisioned. I learned the value of recognizing that at its core there is value in many things that are disappointing, it’s all about using what you have to make what you feel is lacking more appealing and palatable. Are there things in your life that represent failure and disappointment. Before giving up on them (children, marriage, career), speak to someone who can help you perhaps find a way to recognize what core value may still remain. It would be a shame to discard something that with a little work could be salvaged. Small Business owners can frequently feel discouraged. An antidote for this discouragement is to ask yourself "At the end of the day do you love others; do you feel like you have made a positive difference in people's lives? If so, how did you do it? It can be so easy to withdraw, especially when things are hard, or not working out as you want them to. However, if loving others is a motivator it will keep you from discouragement. Business owners who have direct access to customers, clients, vendors, or just people in need of their services or products tend to feel more engaged. However, there are many business owners who operate in the background. They spend their time working on their business. They are building, creating, planning, and strategizing so that the business can run effectively and be successful. Sometimes these roles are all filled by the same business owner. The owner has to not only be client-facing but must be business-facing also. It is easy to lose track of “who” you are working so hard for if you are not directly in front of them, or if you are wearing so many hats. When you don't have access to positive feedback from your clients or customers, you then rely on the numbers to tell you everything about your effectiveness. So low, slow, no sales or customer engagements can be very discouraging. That is why remembering that you are going for positive impact is helpful. Today, as you build, plan, create, remember your customer, client, vendor, the “who” whose life you are improving by the work you do. Make sure that when they eventually engage with your service or product, they will feel the love that you put into it for them. Your impact will last way past the last sale. This will keep you motivated even in slow times when discouragement can creep in. So you have a lot of followers, subscribers, or connections. You attend every networking event. When you show up you receive a “Norm” like welcome as seen in the sitcom Cheers. Yet you think that success has eluded you. It could be that your definition of success needs to be revised. Are you selling a product or a service, or are you impacting lives? You can do both. You can promote, or sell your product and service as well as positively impact lives. If you are doing that, then isn’t that a good measure of success? Some people may feel like they have not been able to increase their sales or interest in their product or service, but they have made some meaningful connections. If people smile when your name is mentioned in a group setting and it generates some positive feelings due to a past interaction with you, then that is impact. Can that be a measure of success? For many in business, the bottom line is measured by how much money is generated. Looking at that alone leads to feelings of discouragement. Today set your goal for impact, positive impact. How many lives can you pour into today? Your connections, followers, and subscribers are yours for a reason. Is it only because they are potential consumers of your product or service? Redefine success and you will feel successful. Here is a radical idea, don’t try to get more. Try to give more, more to those who have already shown interest in your social media posts. Engage for impact. I talk a bit more about this in this video, take a look. https://youtu.be/CIkTsLhdcKA Confirmation that you are walking in your purpose is when you get on the enemies radar. This is especially true for faith-based businesses. The enemy recently sent one of his disciples to my social media page with a message for me. It said “I got connected to you in my prayers, hit me up in my DM immediately is very urgent, There are spiritual blockages that’s been in you for sometime now” This message came from someone who identified herself as a “priestess”. First of all, if she had really understood who she was targeting she would never have tried such a tactic. I don’t play at religion, I’m not even religious. I am a servant of the most High God. I serve the Creator, the one who holds the universe together. I am His, child, loved and highly favored. So I am not confused, I know who I am and who my father is. She first tried the tactic of trying to connect with me through the use of religious language, “in my prayers”. I am sure she prays, but do we pray to the same God, “No”. Because if we did she would have understood that my God is not like her god. My God speaks to me through His Word, and those who follow His Word. If you are not a follower of His Word, then nothing, no sacred knowledge that you have is important to me, no matter how “urgent”. Then the next tactic: applying urgency to see if that get’s me to meet with her. That is a salesman’s tactic that taps into fear. Fear of missing out (FOMO), fear of lacking knowledge. For it to have worked I would have had to believe and trust that she had special knowledge to impart. Why would God give her this knowledge to give to me? He has access to my heart and my mind. I am surrounded by His people, because I fellowship with them. They are godly people who hear from Him daily. If he wanted to give me knowledge, he would use one of His own? I believe she could have heard something about me, but from her master not mine. Mine talks to me directly or uses His people not the enemies’ people to send me messages. Lastly she tried using a piece of generalized knowledge to peak my curiosity. “Blockages”, what is that? There are some things that I have been in prayer about for awhile and am patiently waiting for God to answer. Who doesn’t have areas of struggle or concern? Whose life is so perfect that there are no areas that you are working on, or frustrated with, or are in prayer about? Being a Christian doesn’t mean everything is perfect and honky dory here in Christianland. We are in this world, with its many tribulations, but we are not of this world. We belong to an eternal kingdom. We are the ultimate realists, not delusional. So yes things are not perfect, and won’t be until Heaven. Her knowledge about some vague “blockage” is just a smoke screen to get me and others to view her as having some secret knowledge. Listen, don’t fall for these kind of appeals on social media. Know God, through his word. Don’t do like Saul did, when he consulted the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28). Do instead like Nehemiah did when he refused to be pulled away from the work God had called him to do (Neh 6:3), he “ sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” These mediums, psychics, and witches can only know what their master has told them. That information is to enslave you and not bring you health, healing or success. Consult with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and with Him alone to have true success in this life and the one to come. Have you had similar appeals emailed to you or posted on your social media? How have you handled them? |
AuthorAllison is a Professional Life Strategist, helping busy professional women maintain healthy relationships professionally and personally as they move forward in their lives. She gives you tools to build the life you want. Archives
April 2023
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