Blind-sided Series part 1
5-second version-
Sometimes we get blindsided by something, meaning something happened that we didn’t see coming. We are not usually the innocent victim we would like to believe we are.
5-minute version-
I’ve been blindsided many times in my life. By blindsided I mean I have been unaware of something about to impact my life. One impactful incident occurred as I was cresting a hill in traffic on a four lane semi-divided road at 50mph after dark, when the car in front of me lunged into the right lane beside me and I found myself forty feet from a car parked in the left lane with its lights off. This was a very impactful incident that I didn’t see coming until a second before my head broke both the front and side windows. Another memorable blindside occurred when I followed the advice of a marriage book I was reading and asked my wife to complete an assessment of various aspects of our marriage. The shock I received from what she wrote sent me reeling. There have been many more- like the day my daughter was born with Down Syndrome, when my boss gave my job to his son because he couldn’t figure out what else to do with him, or the day decades of hard work and investing were wiped away in one decision by a judge. I’m sure you have many stories to tell also. The reality is, more blindsided impacts are coming to both you and me so what are we, what can we, do about it? There are things we can do to avoid being blindsided and also things we can do to lessen the impact they have on our lives.
Do not start by reacting to the ways you are vulnerable because doing so will get in the way of having a growth mindset. Here are some examples of conclusions not to make- I am not going to let people get too close to me so that they won’t be able to betray or hurt me. I won’t fly in an airplane so that it’s impossible for me to die in a crash. I won’t take risks so that my chances of failure will be low. I’m making a hard turn here so stay with me. This is where I get into the meaty substance of this article. I have two points to make. The first is in this article and the second will be in another nine articles to follow. Instead, start by first applying general growth principles that will eliminate many threats and limit the effects of blindsiding incidents. Secondly, consider specific growth principles that apply to each area of your life that growth in those areas is dependent upon.
Here is a list of the general growth principles–
- The goal of life is to love and receive love from God and His creation in every area of life.
- Having options eliminates much stress.
- The more pillars of support each area of life has the more robust it is. For instance, if your finances are fully dependent on your work and you get sick or hurt the single pillar holding up your financial life, you, is eliminated and your metaphorical financial house will come crashing down. Having many supporting pillars like your work, an emergency fund, life insurance, disability insurance, and investments means that even if one or two supports are knocked out, your financial house can remain standing.
- Relationships are the most important thing in every area of life.
- Eliminate addictions.
- Minimize personality disorders by having concern for others.
- Develop character by growing in your practice of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control.
- Take every thought captive and do not make allowances for selfish indulgences.
- Be the same person in private as in public.
- Make choices consistent with your goals.
- Be diligent in maintaining margin in every area of your life so that you have the capacity to give and invest when opportunity arises or events require. For instance, spend less than you earn, leave unscheduled time in your day, get sufficient sleep, deposit more into your relationships than you withdraw, and educate yourself beyond your immediate needs.
Next we will look at the specific growth principles that apply to the areas of life and discover how they protect us.
To read about how not to get blindsided in the area of your Health check out part 2 of this series- Your Health Depends On Love