A thought by John C. Maxwell (2000-03-08) from
his book, Failing Forward: How to Makethe Most of Your Mistakes (p. 142). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click
on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
In my reading, I come upon so many good thoughts
that it is hard to sometimes choose what to highlight. This Monday morning was one of those
times. But this one is the first one
that caught my attention. Maybe this
thought is for you.
John says, “You need to determine if what
happened was really a failure. What you think is your fault may have been an
attempt to fulfill unrealistic expectations. It doesn't matter whether you
place them on yourself or someone else does; if a goal is unrealistic and you
miss it, that is not a failure.”
We are so quick to want to play the blame game
even if it is with ourselves. Now it is
important to learn from our mistakes but a realistic evaluation is very
important. And many times unrealistic
expectations can be the problem. In other
words too high expectations can bring about frustrations.
Then John says, “To give you a better perspective
on this, let me tell you a story that President Reagan told before he left
office. It's about Three Musketeers author Alexandre Dumas. The novelist and a
friend had a heated argument, and one challenged the other to a duel. Both
Dumas and his friend were expert marksmen, and they feared that if they
proceeded with the duel, both would die. So they decided to draw straws to
determine which of them would shoot himself. Dumas picked the short straw.
With a sigh, he picked up his pistol, walked into
the library, and closed the door, leaving behind him a group of worried
friends. After a few moments, the loud report of a pistol shot echoed from the
library. His friends immediately charged into the room, and there stood Dumas
with the pistol still smoking in his hand. ‘An amazing thing just happened,’
said Dumas. ‘I missed.’”
I like what John then says, “As you examine your
problems, try to be like Dumas: Don't allow an unrealistic expectation to kill
you.”
I needed this thought too many times on Monday
after a Sunday when things weren’t up to my too high expectations where I was
feeling like a failure as a Pastor. Maybe
that is where you are today. Maybe you
need to realize that you aren’t a failure. Maybe you need to lower your expectations a
little bit.
So how are you doing today?
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