Sharing Resources to Help You Grow Personally, Professionally & Financially

Sometimes it helps to get a little dose of encouragement—along with a good cup of coffee!—to start the day. Today we discuss "understanding".

Hopefully, the message below will help you get off to a good start for the week. Please feel free to forward the newsletter along to others who you think would benefit from the content.

Understand

Anyone who spends time around me knows that I have a thirst for knowledge and am much more of a “thinker” than a “feeler.” So, it should come as no surprise that when I encounter something that does not make sense to me, I often utter the words, “I just don’t understand.”

Earlier this week I was relating to a friend a conversation I’d had with my wife, and how I had remarked during the discussion that “I just don’t understand.” He let me know that this was probably NOT the best thing to say, as some people are more of a “feeler,” and to them, certain situations make perfect sense. Further, remarking that I don’t understand implies that there is something wrong with the situation and my wife’s perspective of it—as saying this implies that the situation does not fit with MY rational view of the world. Ouch!

For the past day I have been replaying this conversation in my mind and have come to an even bigger conclusion. When I say, “I don’t understand,” what I am really saying is that I MUST know everything. In essence, I am holding myself up as godlike. Ouch!
Some things in life are beyond our comprehension. That does not make them right or wrong. They simply are. To grow as individuals, we (me at the top of that list!) need to understand that we WON’T understand sometimes. And that is perfectly OK. The good news is that I’ve recognized this character flaw in myself; the bad news is that I don’t fully understand what to do about it (irony intentional with that last statement, in case anyone is wondering if I really am an idiot!).

My personal goal is to STOP using the “I don’t understand” refrain and to use situations that are perplexing to me as opportunities to better connect with God. I’m guessing that I will be doing A LOT of connecting.

That brings me to this week’s question:

• Are you willing to leave the understanding in God’s hands and focus on living your life in a loving manner?

Thanks for sharing a bit of your time with me this Monday morning.

Have a great week!
Curt

About MMM: Each week I publish “Monday Morning Motivation” in the hopes that one person will find a bit of inspiration and that inspiration will have a positive impact on their life. My motivation comes from experiences, reading, sermons, and discussions.

Blog post from this past week:

Monday Morning Motivation - Resilience