When You Feel Discouraged
Being discouraged often stems from unmet expectations and can be linked to self-doubt or negative self-perception.
Most of us will settle for the mundane routines of life because change often involves exerting a great deal of energy to learn and overcome obstacles.
After the age of formal education, unfortunately, in adults, cognitive decline starts to show up as memorization becomes more difficult, response time slows, and learning new tasks starts to become more like climbing a mountain versus climbing a hill.
To be honest, as humans who depend on limited amounts of energy, we typically choose the path of least resistance.
The willpower to open ourselves up to resistance will bring the negative side of unmet expectations, self-doubt, or negative self-thought.
No one wants to fail as to why we often settle for the failure to start. We just choose to fail from the start and accept defeat before we even begin.
Why? To save ourselves from having to exert a great deal of energy to fight through discouragement.
As adults, our energy reserves are spread thin as it is and equip that with cognitive decline, most of us by the end of the day do not want to think about anything else.
But why do most human success stories often involve decades of discouragement, failures, and unmet expectations?
Simple. That is reality. It is us who hold onto unrealistic expectations. If all we knew was the path of resistance it would be expected. But we grow lazy and as soon as we discover the path of least resistance, we take it instead. Becoming content with the average while resisting the challenges.
Discouragement is normal. It testifies to the fact that you have chosen to succeed. You have chosen the path of resistance because you understand the finish line is worth the slosh through the mud, the cuts from the thorns, and the climb from unexplored paths.
In the Bible, Numbers 13 and 14 give us the account of how Moses sent 12 spies into the land that God had promised that they would occupy. Ten of the spies brought back a bad report speaking of land heavily fortified, occupied by giants, and a harsh land that seems to devour it's people.
Numbers 13:32
So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.
Only two remembered the Words of God. The promise that the land was to be given to them. Caleb, one of the spies said,
30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
The second man to speak was a man named Joshua who had this to say,
Numbers 14:7-10
7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.
9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”
10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
Of twelve spies, ten saw the obstacles as too great, and two saw the victory as too great to resist.
Not only did the ten see the obstacles as too great, but they were willing to stone the two for even suggesting that they could easily overcome them.
Discouragement wants to kill any ambition to overcome the obstacles.
All you must do is not give up.
Joshua with Caleb alongside him would eventually lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan and would easily take it over through the strength and blessing of the Lord.
If one path ends, find another, make a way, and keep moving forward. You can't win a race after taking the first step with one foot still planted on the starting line.
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