Skip to main content

“Don’t spend your life feeling sorry for yourself.”


A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book, Don't Give Up (p. 64). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I know, I know, it’s not you or me.  But I really do have it rough.

Kyle says, “One of the ways you know it may be time to stop feeling sorry for yourself is that you feel defensive when some meddling book pipes up and tells you to stop feeling sorry for yourself.

“When people tell you to stop feeling sorry for yourself, it’s hurtful. And you start feeling sorry for yourself. If this sounds like you, stay with me.”

He goes on, “People who pity themselves and live with a victim mentality rarely realize it. That’s especially true when the people around them are constantly reinforcing it. Well-meaning friends and family often reinforce a victim mentality because they see our pain and try to comfort us with the nearest tools in their emotional toolshed: sympathy and pity. That tough love tool is always in the very back of the shed, where it’s nearly impossible to get to.

“A victim mentality can be hard to self-diagnose because it’s not always pervasive. You may not be one to throw an all-encompassing pity party, but it’s just possible you’re struggling with a stubborn little pocket of victim mentality. Perhaps there’s a specific area of your life you assume can never change. In that area, instead of taking personal responsibility, you blame others. What is it? Your marriage? Career? Parenting? Financial situation? An addiction? Inability to maintain a healthy relationship?

“One way to identify an area where you have a victim mentality is to pinpoint an area of your life where you’re tempted to give up.”

The whole thought that Kyle said was, “Don’t spend your life feeling sorry for yourself. As long as you decide to see yourself as a victim, you won’t experience the taste of victory.”

And that is what we want, isn’t it?

Yes, yes!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...
Post a Comment
Read more

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident.   In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose.   In other words you are not an accident.   I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth.   In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man.   And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ”   Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like?   Like that characteristic is a curse or something.   Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God.   Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Je...
Post a Comment
Read more