When the Storm is too much to bare

What do you do when the pressure of life is too much to bear?  What do you do when you feel like you have been dumped right in the middle of an ocean and left to fend for yourself? Have you ever cried out for help because you felt like giving up, throwing in the towel and quitting; and it seemed like no one heard you? When the pressure is on, what do you do, what do you turn to and who do you turn to? The pressures of life can seem so great and your strength to survive the next wave can seem so small. It would be nice if you could just push the “easy” button when hard times come your way. It would be nice if you had a lot of resources at your disposal that could insulate you from the trauma and turmoil that seems to surround you. The fact that you are reading this post lets you know that you are a survivor and that when all hope seems lost, life has a way of throwing you a lifeline that will sustain you until you are able to stand on your won feet and press on.

But what do you do when you don’t know what to do? When it looks like everything around you is caving in the oceans seem to be overrunning your banks, take a moment and push pause on life, search for the peace and let the storm subside. I know that you look like everything is going great for you, but some time in your life you have faced some storms. Some of these storms have been light afternoon showers that are common when the sun is out but all of a sudden it starts to sprinkle in your life. This can come in the form of a co-worker losing their temper with you or a spouse getting upset with you for what seems to be no reason. This light storm comes and although it is not enough to break out the umbrella, it is enough to get your attention to say I need to check the weather next time before I go out. Other storms you may face may seem like category four hurricanes, when all hell is breaking loose in your life and it feels like this tsunami storm is going to take you out. An example may be the electric bill, cable bill and mortgage are past due and they just cut your pay at work, and you are maxed out on your credit cards from last month and there is one bag of ramen noodles in the cupboard. This type of typhoon has the potential to take you out and can seem overwhelming to you.  It may even look like there is no way out because everyone is at your door and the only way out depends on you, or so you think.

One thing that I have come to learn about surviving the storms that I think I can’t bear is that they don’t last forever. I know it seems like they are never-ending but I know if it had a beginning, it has to have an ending. I also know that it is during these times that it is wise to not make major decisions.  The storm may be pressuring you to do something major but don’t give in to it. You may feel like you are in survival mode, and you may have to break out the life jackets, but hold on, help is on the way. No matter what the challenge, no matter what the obstacle, you have a life-preserver near by that will help you tie a knot in the rope and help you to hold on when you want to let go. You have to remain calm in the storm and not panic. If you panic, you can make a bad situation worse. If you panic in the storm, rapid movements may pull you under when you should be floating on top of the water. It is during these trying times that we must remain disciplined and focused. There is only so much that you can do, so do what you can and trust God for the rest.

You may encounter storms that are too much for you to be bare all by yourself. But you have to remember that you are not all by yourself.  You have to walk by faith that you are going to make it no matter what may come your way and not walk by what you see. Seeing can be scary and faith can seem so far away, but you can’t let yourself drown in worry and fear. They come to take you under but you need to trust in something that will take you over or anchor you in place so that you will not be moved. Storms of life will blow and meet you at a time when you think you are doing ok. You need to make up in your mind that no matter what comes your way, you will not cave in, go under or quit. This storm will pass! There may be some damage, injury or even some loss, but just think back to the last storm you encountered and you thought that the storm was the big one that was going to do you in. Guess what, you made it and you will keep on making it as long ans you don’t lose hope.

Eric Smith

Finishing Strong

It has been said that how you start a thing is how you end a thing. Sometimes this is true but sometimes, how you end a thing is better than you started. There may be things in your life that did not start out well and you may have thought that there was no hope for you. You may have even thought that you would be held captive by your beginnings for the rest of your life,which by all accounts almost counted you out. This year you may have made some New Year resolutions and promised yourself that things would be different this year.  You may have said you would start a new job, go back to school, move to a new city or even lose some weight. You may have started out strong by doing everything that it would take to complete your goal,  but somewhere along the way your drive began to wane, and your passion to push forward began to fade. You may have had a good desire to start but was that desire enough to carry you through the whole year. Ask yourself “how big is my want too! How bad do I want to end well?” 

You have to make up your mind, whether in business, in school or even in your home that the end of a thing is greater than the beginning of a thing and this is no time to give up, cave in or throw in the towel. You have to make up your mind that you want to  Finish Strong! Finish strong for your family. Finish strong for your dream to come true. Finish what you started, even if you started off wrong. Just because you started off one way does not mean that your course has been charted and there is no way to get ahead. Your outcome is not dictated by your start. How you finish does matter. If you want a good start to 2013, you have to do all you can to end 2012 strong. You need the strength to endure all the way to the end. Don’t let frustration stop you, don’t let distractions deter you, don’t let stress keep you falling short; gird up your mind, strengthen your feeble knees and resolve that you will not let 2012 end until you finish strong! 2013 is counting on you finishing up this year in a good starting position.

Some people are content with saying that they will just limp to the finish line. Limping across the finish line may be completing the journey for some people. They may have been so beaten down by life that this seems like the only way that they will accomplish their goal by barely making it. The road may have been rough this year and the desire to give up may be creeping at your door but you have got to do your best to finish what you start. Don’t let your setbacks become a set up for failure, rather, let your setbacks become a setup for your comeback! Whether you are the visionary or the doorman, determine to finish strong. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare composed poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'”  No matter where you find yourself in your life, no matter how low you may have felt at times you have got to know that “the race is not given to the swift or to the strong, but to the one who endures until the end.”  Make up your mind not to just survive but to thrive!

I really appreciate you all journeying me this year on a leadershift. I did not know how my blog would be received and I didn’t know the impact that it would make on so many people. I want to thank you for allowing me to encourage you and motivate you to be more successful than you are. I hope that your plans, hopes and dreams all come to pass in the upcoming year but more importantly, I want you to finish this year out strong. It is not too late to finish your course this year stronger than ever before. A while back I told you to get from the day and not just through the day. The same applies for this year, get from this year and not just through it. Don’t stop because you are tired. Stop because you are done! See you in 2013.

Eric Smith