Don McMinn

An Eastern monarch asked his wise men to invent a phrase that would apply to all times and in all situations. After careful deliberation, they offered this statement: “And this too shall pass away.”

When Abraham Lincoln heard the story, he mused: “How much it expresses. How chastening in the hour of pride; how consoling in the depths of affliction.”

When you’re going through tough times, don’t be overly discouraged because “this too shall pass away.” And when you’re going through times of prosperity, don’t be smug and proud because “this too shall pass away.” Events are seldom as catastrophic or fortunate as we think. This truth, if embraced, will give us ballast and stabilize our emotions.

In my early forties I had several career leaps that catapulted me up near the top of my profession. The rails were greased and the momentum strong. But the high times were soon tempered by the challenges of life. Good times don’t last forever.

In my late forties I became clinically depressed. I thought my life as I knew it was coming to an end. If you’ve never been depressed, it’s hard to understand the feelings of hopelessness and confusion that torment the mind. I told my wife that we needed to liquidate our belongings and go live with her mother out in the country. But that season of my life passed. With the help of medications, I climbed out of the dark abyss and resumed normal life.

Winston Churchill touched on this thought when he said, “Success is not final…failure is not fatal…it’s the courage to continue that counts.”

Life is a series of ups and downs, but the peaks and the valleys seldom last. So don’t be too discouraged by the low points nor too emboldened by the high points in life. Remind yourself and others of the transitory nature of life. Try to achieve a balanced perspective on life.

I’m teaching my grandson how to have a good work ethic. There are many aspects to consider; recently we talked about volunteering to do hard tasks. Some jobs are easy, others are difficult; when given a choice, choose those that are challenging. Most people avoid them.

You earn a good reputation by volunteering to do hard things and doing them well. Also, it’s usually the right and noble thing to do.

Sometimes it involves doing simple but unpleasant tasks.

• • • When my year-old granddaughter went ballistic in a restaurant, I volunteered to skip my meal and babysit her.
    • Boxes—heavy and light—needed to be moved. I went for the heavy ones.

Sometimes it means committing to complicated challenges.

• • • Starting a graduate degree later in life.
    • Working a second job to get out of debt.
    • Becoming the caretaker for an invalid friend.

Some people only do easy things; they stay in the path of least resistance. At work they do the minimum required to keep their jobs; they don’t want to be inconvenienced in life; they seldom volunteer for optional tasks. Don’t be like that.

Leap at the chance to do things that other people don’t want to do. When others hesitate, act. Volunteer to do things you’re not responsible for or required to do.

Potential benefits?

• • • You’ll garner a reputation for being an action-oriented, get-it-done person.
    • You’ll be a source of momentum and positive direction.
    • Difficult tasks develop strong “muscles”; you’ll grow in wisdom and ability.
    • You’ll benefit from the fact that accomplishing hard things is usually more rewarding than doing simple things.

I work with a man, I’ll call him Pete (because that’s his real name) who personifies this mentality. He’s eager to work, he’s low maintenance, he volunteers for extra assignments, and he does more than he’s paid to do. Thanks, Pete.

Hope is a vital resource for living in a challenging world. Without hope we can become discouraged and  end up in a quagmire of despair, depression, and passivity. So pursue, embrace, and benefit from hope. 

But understand the limits of hope. Hope is necessary but at times insufficient. The need for hope implies that something is off kilter, uncertain, and potentially harmful and that our future may be compromised. In which case a plan of action is needed. 

I should also mention that while hope needs a plan, a plan is also necessary but insufficient. It’s simply a strategy describing a better future. But you can have both hope and a plan without anything improving because a third element is needed: action. Peter Drucker once said, “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” [Here’s a post I wrote titled Have a Bias Toward Action.]

Two years into marriage, Mary and I had just bought our first house and had our first child when I lost my job. On day one of unemployment I was sitting on the back porch thinking of our uncertain future, praying and searching for hope. Before the day ended I devised a business plan for starting a power-washing business. Within a week I had purchased a truck, installed a power-washer in the bed, and was making sales calls. That small business kept us financially afloat for about a year until I could secure a permanent job in my field. Hope + a plan + action led us to a good place.

Without action, hope and plans are just wishful thinking.

I recently read a clever and insightful statement that is impacting my life. 

“You can worry if you want to. It will give you something to do. But there’s no benefit to it.”

I’ll add two variations:

• • • “You can be angry if you want to. It will give you something to do. But there’s no benefit to it.”
    • “You can judge others if you want to. It will give you something to do. But there’s no benefit to it.”

Not only is there no benefit in worrying, getting angry, and judging others, if left unchecked they can become toxic, metastasize, and corrupt our mind and emotions. 

The Bible clearly teaches: 

• • • Don’t worry about anything (Philippians 4:6).
    • Get rid of all anger (Ephesians 4:31).
    • Do not judge others (Matthew 7:1).

How do we guard against these poisonous thoughts? Try to recognize when they first appear in your mind, then immediately drop them and redirect your thoughts to a healthy subject. I recently wrote a post titled “Sometimes we just need to drop it.”

As soon as you sense worry, anger, or judgment creeping into your soul, drop it. Find something else to do that will be beneficial. Declutter your mind and you’ll live a happier and more productive life.