Voices Become Viewpoints
Do you ever feel like you lose sight of who you are at times? You feel shaken by things going on in the world around you? Has the uncertainty just driven up your anxiety by a factor of 100?! If you answered yes to any of that, you’re not alone. I believe that all of us, to one degree or another, have felt one or more of these things the past 8 months! You might be feeling them right now as you are reading this!
So, we know that we can find people to agree with us, right? Isn’t that what social media is? We rally to someone’s cause or someone to ours and we spend an insane amount of time to argue with total strangers online to try to prove a point that is not going to change their mind. So, if we know and recognize that - what are we doing to find voices of encouragement that help lift us out of our funk rather than drive us deeper into despair?
Sometimes, when we are in that funk, we retreat into isolation. And when you seek your own counsel, too often you believe the lies that you tell yourself when you are in a pit. Isolation is the worst possible counselor. How do we improve on this? How do we make different choices? This requires making a conscientious decision to humble ourselves and realize that we may not be completely right all the time. It will require a humble approach to recognize that there is another perspective other than our own. It will call for humbling ourselves and saying to someone else, “I may not want to hear what you have to say, but I NEED to hear it.” Why? Because most of the time, people don’t really want you to give them advice when they ask for it. They want you to affirm what they already decided to do. They usually want attention or affirmation – not advice.
The direction of our lives is mostly determined by the voices we respond to. Wherever we focus our attention the most will become the driving force in our lives. We steer where we stare. The secret to you not going crazy in this season in life and by what is going on in the world, are the voices you respond to. The voices you respond to are going to come mainly from who and what you surround yourself with. Who are you listening to? Voices become viewpoints! Read that again: voices become viewpoints!
It is not what we go through that determines where we end up – it’s who we listen to and what we guide by. What you hear gets in your heart. What you scroll gets in your spirit. Do you find yourself crazily stressed after you keep hitting refresh on your news app? Do you find yourself more than mildly annoyed after mindlessly scrolling your go-to social media apps? Do you find yourself making decisions that are detrimental to your health and future after spending time with certain people? Those “voices” are framing your viewpoint.
My question to you is: what are you looking for? If you’re looking for a reason to be offended, you’ll find it. If you’re looking for a reason to be bitter, you’ll find it. If you’re looking for a reason to be at peace, you’ll find it. If you’re looking for a reason to be grateful, you’ll find it. You will always find what you’re looking for! Be selective in your battles. Being at peace is often better than being right.
I would LOVE to blame my mood on someone else or what’s going on in the world. I really would! How about you? But we are responsible for how we act, in spite of our present mood. We are in a storm collectively but also are battling personal storms.
The first storm is the one you can't control. The second one is created by your decisions. In this season of uncertainty, a lot of us are creating second storms that are worse than the first. Are you running to places more dangerous than the storm itself? Are you associating with people who add to your misery and stress? While you cannot control who you attract, you can control who you entertain. While we may not always get to choose WHAT we go through in life, we do get to choose WHO we go through it with. So, choose wisely!