Blog by Sharman Dow
Discouragement.
It’s such a disheartening word, filling your mind with such negative emotions that accomplishing any task at hand can be overwhelming. It is the result of so many unrealized dreams and failures that could have been avoided. It’s an unnerving emotion that will prevent any process of achievement and potential for future success.
We all have a tendency at times to get demoralized and disappointed in the stuff of everyday things. Life many times will deal each of us heartache and disappointment; but lingering on a negative thought process is destructive to your overall wellbeing and success in your business and personal life. Sometimes discouraging things have to be accepted for what they are, discouraging. However, what you must remember, when you linger on the hopelessness of the situation your circumstances will never change. Until you constrain the negative thoughts and add the hope of expectancy and confidence into your thinking, it will be difficult to make a change for the better.
Overcoming discouragement takes a concerted effort on your part in realizing you have more in you, then the moment of disappointment. Start looking at the positive things in your life. Whenever I get discouraged I start making a mental note of all the wonderful things I have and how truly blessed I am. I start thanking God for the ability to rise above the discouraging event and for His wisdom in learning what I can from the negative incident. There is always something to be learned, even in the worse of circumstances.
Concentrating on negative emotions prevent you from achieving your true success. So you did not get that new job, promotion or pay raise in which you put all your hopes on to obtain. Maybe someone at work treated you poorly and blamed you for the failed project or worse, took credit for a great success that you initiated and completed. It doesn’t devalue who you are and what you were made for by God. It’s just a temporary setback in your journey of achieving your goals. Take it for what it is in the short term and pull yourself up.
I was once fired from a job and at the time it was devastating, but within a short time I lifted myself out of my depression and determined I was not going to allow one person’s opinion of me to pull me down. It was at this point through a series of circumstances the entire direction of my life changed; and within a year I had launched a new career that became a financial success for me. This would have never happened if I had not been fired from my former job. Think about that; because I was fired from a job, my whole life changed within a year for the better.
Maybe for you it was your dream job that was going to get you out of the rut you feel you are enveloped in or that promotion you missed out on. Whatever is aching your heart; stop it, stop it today!! Stop wallowing in your disappointment and lift yourself out of the discouraging words that make you think less of yourself. You have value and don’t allow the negative circumstances or someone’s opinion of you to discourage you. It is a temporal situation and it does not define who you are, because you can overcome discouragement!
The right job, promotion or pay raise is out there for you and will come later. Many times doors will close for a reason and you just might never fully understand why. But whatever the reason, start to examine the situation and determine a new plan of action. If Plan A is out, then go to Plan B.
Today is a new day; now go take it on with hope and anticipation of a great future!! Come to the Empower Women’s Conference and hear from the women who have walked before you and overcame discouragement in their own lives.
Sharman Dow is the founder of the Empower Women’s Conference, coming October 22nd to Orange County. Register today!
