Oh hey. Hope here. It’s Wednesday, my mom’s birthday is today. She turns 77. I’m 44. This is day 4 of my self-talk in the mirror because I read the latest Jon Acuff book, “Soundtracks,” experiment and I like that I made it all the way to day 4.
In his podcast recently, Jon Acuff talked about a 30 day challenge and how most people quit in the middle. Asked to define “the middle” he said, “Days 2-29.” Truth.
One of the affirmations in the anthem is this, “Everything is always working out for me.”
If I had been asked to say something that audacious three years ago I would’ve simply refused, judged you for even thinking such a notion and launched into a sloppy and hastily prepared argument for why good people never think positive things unless it is, “After all this is done, Jesus will take me to heaven” Or “Life is supposed to be this bad so we learn mercy and forgiveness.” I shit you not, that was perhaps the height of my pep talk ability. Other such pep talks included but were not limited to, “Fuck it.” and “I got into heaven on a technicality.”
Needless to say, my brand of optimism was hot garbage and no one was lining up to talk more about how I could stomp their hopes and dreams, along with my own, into oblivion over a cup of Starbuck’s.
Now, however, three years and lots of coaching and self- talk practice later, I see the value and wisdom in saying something like, “Everything is always working out for me.” Why? Because it sends a valuable message to our brain holes that indicate we should be on the look out for good things. We think things and then we aim to prove them true. I love saying “Everything is working out for me” because then I get to live from the curious, fun, not a total drag excitement of seeing where it is I am being helped, loved, cared for, provided for and supported by my family, my friends and community and a God who loves me dearly. Not just on a technicality.
When I start my day with a notion that there are treasures to be discovered and wins to collect that have been prepared in advance for me to experience, then there’s nothing heavy, punishing or bummer-ish about human existence! It’s a great 24 hours meant to be a gift to make my life fun. Three years ago I was convinced that “blessing” was code for “suck it up and do it like math or eating organ meat because it’s “good” for you” but now, I know I was way wrong. In fact, I was actively working to remove peace, joy, fun and delight from these days I live and breathe by replacing that nice stuff with more virtuous stuff like struggle, stress, punishment and long-suffering.
Is life difficult? Totally. Does it come pre-approved for hard days, sad things and strife? Also yes. All the more reason to bask in the freedom of days that DON’T have those trials. All the more reason to fall deeply in LOVE with the tiny wins and successes we enjoy like coffee, toast, exact change, yacht rock on demand, hugs, flip flops, low humidity, dad jokes, plant sales, VBS, power steering, all that stuff. Have a great day.