Turning Old Resentments into New Realities
Dear Friends,
If you are anything like me you often wrestle with resentment. I mean, let’s be honest, it is easy to do. I resent the fact that the Bengals can’t win a Super Bowl and the Patriots have six. And of course, there are about a million other resentments that are more important than that one. We all have them, and for most of us they leave us in a feeling full of bitterness and disappointment.
The question becomes: What do you do when life serves you a big ol’ glass of resentment?
I think most of us have a common first response; pity party. Poor me. Why is the world out to get me? Type of response. And that is typical, but it doesn’t have to end there. You can cancel the pity party and begin to turn your old resentments into new realities.
On today’s conversation of the podcast my guest did exactly that; she converted a resentment into a new reality. In doing she has found a new balance of faith & life.
I found three critical things in my conversation with Lindsey Cunningham that are universally applicable:
Surround yourself with people who can walk alongside you. Lindsey explains this well, but the idea is to make your circle and form it tight. People who are going through the same stuff may even have the same resentments.
Dial in on your time with God. One of the things I have noticed is that it is difficult to stay in a resentful place when you are routinely conversing with God. Conversing means you are also listening, you are thanking God for what is happening, and you are spending the intentional time.
Lift others up. One of the best ways to mix it up is to serve others. Do you know who never seems resentful? People who serve. When you are serving others the focus changes, and while I love to throw a good pity party the best way to ward off the resentment monster is to start something new (and Lindsey did just that!).
It is 100% human to find yourself in a place where you are battling resentments. We all have them, even if they are just passing through. The key is to decide how long you want to stay there and do something about it.
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Lindsey, and as always, thanks for taking the time!
Tony