I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as this beautiful new day, Good Friday, begins to dawn!
This morning I am going to share some excerpts from Chase The Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small by Mark Batterson. What I am going to share is from a section he titled Theory of Compensation which is found in Chapter 12, Run To The Roar.
"Around the turn of the twentieth century, Alfred Adler proposed the counterintuitive theory of compensation. Adler believed that perceived disadvantages often prove to be well-disguised advantages because they force us to develop attitudes and abilities that would have otherwise gone undiscovered. It's only as we compensate for those disadvantages that we discover our greatest gifts.
Seventy percent of the art students Adler studied had optical anomalies. He observed that some of history's greatest composers, Mozart and Beethoven among them, had degenerative traces in their ears. And he cited a multiplicity of other examples, from a wide variety of vocations, of those who leveraged their weaknesses by discovering new strengths. Adler concluded that perceived disadvantages, such as birth defects, physical ailments, and poverty, can be springboards to success. And that success is not achieved in spite of those perceived disadvantages. It's achieved because of them.
Subsequent studies have added credibility to Adler's theory. In one study of small-business owners, for example, 35 percent were self-identified dyslexics. While none of us would wish dyslexia on our children because of the academic challenge that comes with it, that disadvantage forced this group of entrepreneurs to cultivate different skill sets. Some of them became more proficient at oral communication because reading was so difficult. Others learned to rely on well-developed social skills to compensate for the challenges they faced in the classroom. And all of them cultivated a work ethic that might have remained dormant if reading had come easy to them."
"Destiny isn't revealed on sunny days. It's usually revealed on snowy days. Destiny isn't revealed while watching cute kitten videos. It's revealed when you cross paths with a five-hundred-pound lion. Destiny isn't just revealed in your natural gifts and abilities. It's also revealed in the compensatory skills you have to work extra hard to develop."
"You have gifts and abilities that you aren't even aware of, but they are often buried beneath perceived weaknesses. In those disadvantages, dreams are playing hide-and-seek."
A pretty profound perspective shift, isn't it? I can't help but think of those who seemingly fight for their disadvantages and those, who despite obvious disadvantages, act and believe as though their disadvantage doesn't even exist. I remember watching a story once of a young boy, several physically handicapped, who could seemingly do anything. When the reporter asked him how it felt to be disabled, he stated he didn't know he was disabled until someone told him.
I am drawn to the part that says, "well-disguised advantages because they force us to develop attitudes and abilities that would have otherwise gone undiscovered." It all, life, seems to begin with attitude, doesn't it? What is the difference between those fighting for their disadvantages and the boy who didn't know he was disabled until someone told him? Attitude. What is the difference between a challenge or an opportunity? Attitude.
Attitude is defined as, "a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior." Powerful. Complete. The way we think or feel about someone or something, which is typically reflected in our behavior. Do you think you are fearfully & wonderfully made? Created on purpose, for a purpose? Lacking nothing? In-spite of your flaws - we are all flawed somehow Friends? If you don't like where you are in your life right now, if you aren't happy with the way things are going, may I please, with a pure heart, suggest that perhaps you need to take an honest look at the way you are thinking about things? It really all does begin there, with our attitudes.
And I just stand in awe of the second part, the development of compensatory abilities. For me I think this is the ultimate goal, to become the best we are capable of becoming. No, my body might not look like yours, my mental faculties may not function like yours and I might not have the resources you have however I am still capable of becoming the best that I am capable of becoming. I pray that each of us, beginning with me, will truly strive for this - our individual greatness - regardless of our disadvantages.
I also want to share a few quotes with you, not necessarily related to the topic of compensation, that I came across this week that I thought were pretty stinkin' awesome.
"No other success can compensate for failure in the home." - David McKay
"How your kids treat others is shaped by how you treat others." - Unknown
"How you live your life is sending a message to those around you. More than your words, people are watching how you live." - Dean Tolson
"If you want to catch your dreams, you have to drop your fears." - Anton Rubaclini
"All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them." - Magic Johnson
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful Easter weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
No comments:
Post a Comment