Finding Clarity in Darkness
When everything is at a breaking point we’re able to see what’s truly important.
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To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.
Gail Sheehy
Life has seasons.
Some are relaxing, and leave us with more time than we can fill.
Others are challenging and require more time and effort than we ever thought we could give.
We’re better off embracing each season of life instead of trying to fight back.
When it snows, it’s best to enjoy a day skiing rather than sitting at the beach complaining about the cold. Our seasons of life are no different. Circumstances outside our control often dictate these seasons, so it’s better to embrace them than to fight them.
The seasons of life also allow us to evaluate how we spend our time and whether we’re investing it in worthwhile pursuits.
What are we getting for our time?
Difficult seasons in particular present us with a unique opportunity to evaluate where we spend our time.
If we lean into a hard season of life and come out the other side with nothing to show for it, then we need to reconsider what we’re investing so much effort in.
If we’re making sacrifices and enduring a season of darkness, but we don’t feel gratified or see any meaningful results after the work is done, then that pursuit isn’t worth our time.
Worthwhile pursuits should be just that: worthwhile. They are worth the investment of our time and the hardship we endure. The challenges we overcome and the sacrifices we make are hard, but the results we obtain afterward should be worth more than the effort we put in.
If this isn’t the case then, we need to make a change. We need to invest our time in something different or change our approach to that pursuit.
Doing hard things makes us stronger, but only if the outcomes are worth it. There’s nothing noble about suffering for no reason.
Darkness is an Opportunity
When we’re in a dark season of life we should use the extreme circumstances to carefully evaluate if our efforts are worth it.
In these difficult seasons, the stakes become higher and everything we do is magnified. As a result, we’re able to see things clearly.
When our backs are against the wall we’re forced to make sacrifices and we intuitively make decisions based on what’s important to us. Some things are easy to sacrifice and others we make time for no matter how difficult everything else is.
Seasons of darkness are challenging, but they create tremendous clarity.
Each challenging season of life is an opportunity to reevaluate what’s important in our lives and determine if we are investing our time in something worthwhile.
Prompts
Are you in a difficult or easy season of life right now?
When you’re in a difficult season of life or pressed for time, what’s the first thing you skip? What do you always make time for no matter what?
Consider the pursuits in your life that are most challenging. Do you feel gratified after a challenging season or drained?
Deep Dive
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
The answers that we seek are found when we face the obstacles in our lives.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next Sunday.
Kevin