Setting ourselves up to avoid joy at every turn

Roosevelt famously said that comparison was the thief of
joy, but there’s a comparable mindset that also robs us of our ability to
relish life. 

It’s the kissing cousin of comparison. Criticism. 

Which has its merits insofar as growth and
innovation are concerned. But there’s a fine line between the passion for
continuous improvement and the compulsion to find fault in everything we
encounter. 

That’s what our egos don’t want us to know. That if we’re too busy
wielding our ability to identify with perfect precision what’s wrong with every
person and experience and piece of art we encounter; if we’re refusing to
consume anything without trying to figure out the architecture, opportunities
and strategy and motivation around and behind it; and if we’re always sticking
a pin in every moment and consciously picking apart its flaws and
imperfections, we’re setting ourselves up to avoid joy at every turn. 

I
read about a man who pastors a small congregation, and he wrote a fascinating
philosophy on criticism, as it
pertains to singing hymnals. 

Nate said that just because a song is musically
boring, lyrically vapid and emotionally naïve, we can still worship as
fervently and freely as we would when our favorite tune being sung. Complaining
only ruins a genuinely worshipful experience. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so
we could sing our favorite songs every week, he said. Jesus died so that we
might learn to die to self as well. Part of doing that might just be singing
songs we don’t like, and singing them as genuinely as the songs we do. 

The
point is, not everything in life requires a cold, hard analysis. And not
everything can broken down into a set of formulaic principles. 

If we are to
again and again receive the stab of joy, we can’t constantly be on the lookout
for life’s flaws. 

Instead, we should be scanning for moments that inspire a
sense of awe and wonder. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…  

In what situations have you become the thief who steals happiness from his own life?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

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