A Lethal Combo
04/04/12 11:38 Filed in: David Ellis
Most of us men suffer from this malady and don’t even know it.
Yet it is probably the number one reason why most of us just eek out our existence.
Do you find yourself just trying to get by day-by-day?
Maybe you are “infected” by this deadly combination of conditions...
Malaise and Fear. Those two feelings are such a deadly combination.
Malaise is that feeling that SOMEthing is wrong or that SOMEthing needs to change, but you just can’t put your finger on what it is exactly nor is the feeling strong enough to fully develop into Desire. You walk around uncomfortable, uneasy, but just not enough to really do something about it. And Fear… well that just keeps you standing right where you are at and prohibits movement. So you find yourself uncomfortable, but unwilling or unable to do something to change it.
In the face of this one-two punch, most of us, and us men in particular, do what we’ve probably done a million times in our lives… we “medicate”. We allow ourselves to go numb to the deep desires that the feeling of malaise is just symptomatic of. Some of us medicate with drink, or drugs, or sex. Some of us medicate by throwing ourselves into our work, or hobbies, or church. In the end, the goal and impact is the same… we want to rid ourselves of the feeling. That feeling that something is wrong in our worlds and in our lives. That feeling that keeps us awake at night or hits us when we first wake up and the “editor” lobe of our brain is not quite fully functioning yet. That feeling that all is not as it was meant to be… for us. That there MUST BE more to this life than we find ourselves living. Or for us Christian men, that there must be more to this God-stuff than just going to church and trying to be a nice guy.
We get up, trying to bolster our will power to face another day at the office, or work site, or school and tell ourselves that we will feel better after that first cup of coffee spins up our motivation for the day. We shower, dress and rush off to whatever the day holds as we jam that persistent voice of discontent as far back in our conscious mind as it will go.
And why? Because we are afraid of what it could mean if we ever let it rise to the surface. Let it impact us the way we know, deep down, it could. Or in other words, we Fear.
And Fear is a sneaky thief… with stealthy maneuvers that rival the latest Mission Impossible movie. Without a sound or warning, it steals our motivation to take action by simply making the possible seem impossible. It makes us feel that there is no use in even trying because nothing will actually turn out better. Or even more debilitating, that things will turn out worse if we do try to make any changes.
So we sit, paralyzed.
And then we find ourselves wondering “Why?”… why do we keep struggling with the same habits- the same lust, the same anger, the same insecurities, the same issues? Why are we so bored with our lives, or with our wives, or with our church, or in our relationship with God? Why, no matter how much we commit to the latest effort to finally pull ourselves together and be a better man, or husband, or father, or son, do we eventually just find ourselves pretty dang close to where we started in the first place.
The great Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens said,
“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself- the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us- that’s where the action’s at.”
Here, a man who KNEW the great heights of physical achievement and the social status that came with it, knew that the greatest struggles were what happens INSIDE a man, not outside. That the inside decisions would impact the outside, not vise-versa.
So we must all come to the inevitable conclusion that for any real change to happen in our lives, we must defeat Fear and Malaise. We must stop running and allow this feeling of “holy discontent” to rise in us. Because it IS a holy feeling. Most of us think it’s wrong to feel this way. That for some reason or another we should just be satisfied with life as we know it… but it could not be MORE right!
To find Real Life, one must acknowledge the lack of it. To find Water that satisfies, one must feel the Thirst. Discontent is the first and necessary component to any real and lasting change in a man’s life. It is Holy and wholly necessary.
And how do you conquer Fear? Action! Making the decision to move, to do something different, to take a step forward into a new plan. That sends Fear reeling backwards like a combo body shot followed by an upper cut. It says, “not only am I choosing to call the fear a lie, I am willing to move in direct opposition to it just to prove it.” It’s the proverbial stepping out onto the tight rope yourself.
Just imagine the enormous progress you can make by simply doing what you’ve been telling yourself you should do.
So, if you are a man who finds himself Discontent, and wanting, looking for that “More”, a great next step is to join us at IGNITE! That’s real action! And based on the numbers of men who have gone before you, you will not be disappointed. In fact, you just might find that Real Life and Real Freedom you know, deep down, you are longing for.
Living the Revolution!
David
Malaise is that feeling that SOMEthing is wrong or that SOMEthing needs to change, but you just can’t put your finger on what it is exactly nor is the feeling strong enough to fully develop into Desire. You walk around uncomfortable, uneasy, but just not enough to really do something about it. And Fear… well that just keeps you standing right where you are at and prohibits movement. So you find yourself uncomfortable, but unwilling or unable to do something to change it.
In the face of this one-two punch, most of us, and us men in particular, do what we’ve probably done a million times in our lives… we “medicate”. We allow ourselves to go numb to the deep desires that the feeling of malaise is just symptomatic of. Some of us medicate with drink, or drugs, or sex. Some of us medicate by throwing ourselves into our work, or hobbies, or church. In the end, the goal and impact is the same… we want to rid ourselves of the feeling. That feeling that something is wrong in our worlds and in our lives. That feeling that keeps us awake at night or hits us when we first wake up and the “editor” lobe of our brain is not quite fully functioning yet. That feeling that all is not as it was meant to be… for us. That there MUST BE more to this life than we find ourselves living. Or for us Christian men, that there must be more to this God-stuff than just going to church and trying to be a nice guy.
We get up, trying to bolster our will power to face another day at the office, or work site, or school and tell ourselves that we will feel better after that first cup of coffee spins up our motivation for the day. We shower, dress and rush off to whatever the day holds as we jam that persistent voice of discontent as far back in our conscious mind as it will go.
And why? Because we are afraid of what it could mean if we ever let it rise to the surface. Let it impact us the way we know, deep down, it could. Or in other words, we Fear.
And Fear is a sneaky thief… with stealthy maneuvers that rival the latest Mission Impossible movie. Without a sound or warning, it steals our motivation to take action by simply making the possible seem impossible. It makes us feel that there is no use in even trying because nothing will actually turn out better. Or even more debilitating, that things will turn out worse if we do try to make any changes.
So we sit, paralyzed.
And then we find ourselves wondering “Why?”… why do we keep struggling with the same habits- the same lust, the same anger, the same insecurities, the same issues? Why are we so bored with our lives, or with our wives, or with our church, or in our relationship with God? Why, no matter how much we commit to the latest effort to finally pull ourselves together and be a better man, or husband, or father, or son, do we eventually just find ourselves pretty dang close to where we started in the first place.
The great Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens said,
“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself- the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us- that’s where the action’s at.”
Here, a man who KNEW the great heights of physical achievement and the social status that came with it, knew that the greatest struggles were what happens INSIDE a man, not outside. That the inside decisions would impact the outside, not vise-versa.
So we must all come to the inevitable conclusion that for any real change to happen in our lives, we must defeat Fear and Malaise. We must stop running and allow this feeling of “holy discontent” to rise in us. Because it IS a holy feeling. Most of us think it’s wrong to feel this way. That for some reason or another we should just be satisfied with life as we know it… but it could not be MORE right!
To find Real Life, one must acknowledge the lack of it. To find Water that satisfies, one must feel the Thirst. Discontent is the first and necessary component to any real and lasting change in a man’s life. It is Holy and wholly necessary.
And how do you conquer Fear? Action! Making the decision to move, to do something different, to take a step forward into a new plan. That sends Fear reeling backwards like a combo body shot followed by an upper cut. It says, “not only am I choosing to call the fear a lie, I am willing to move in direct opposition to it just to prove it.” It’s the proverbial stepping out onto the tight rope yourself.
Just imagine the enormous progress you can make by simply doing what you’ve been telling yourself you should do.
So, if you are a man who finds himself Discontent, and wanting, looking for that “More”, a great next step is to join us at IGNITE! That’s real action! And based on the numbers of men who have gone before you, you will not be disappointed. In fact, you just might find that Real Life and Real Freedom you know, deep down, you are longing for.
Living the Revolution!
David