I just completed a “Web Week from Hell.” I needed to migrate my Family Matters website and Living Lightly blog to a new host. Despite doing websites for about 20 years, I realized that I was still a “techno peasant” in understanding the technology behind how they worked.
Tech support was very helpful and patient with me but it still took over 50 emails/chats, 30 hours of trial and error, and a week of stress as I questioned my sanity, abilities, self-worth, and what’s important in life. Upon reflection and prayer I finally realized that I had tied up my reputation, importance, and self-esteem with having a website and blog. Who was I without that? This was not a deal breaker in life, but it prompted some self-evaluation as I tried to figure out why I was tying my identity so tightly to this relatively small part of my life.
Perhaps your self-worth is tied to your marriage, children, job, income, public persona, accomplishments, physical health and abilities, etc. Reflecting on who I am and what difference my life on planet earth makes is a lifelong journey, but here are some things I learned/remembered as a result of the trigger of a techno crisis.
- My worth as a human does not depend on my abilities, my health, my successes or failures.
- The day-to-day stresses of life can be tiring and burdensome, BUT as tragic as some are (death of a loved one, serious injury, hunger, etc.) this is not the end of the world. Life will go on (at least for awhile) and eventually I will die. What matters is how I respond to the challenges I face.
- Facing a challenge can be stressful and painful, but what can I eventually learn from it?
- Perhaps the learning is to keep trying or to learn new ways of doing a job.
- Perhaps the learning is to be kinder to myself, to take a rest, to love another more than I care about my own success.
- Perhaps the learning is to humble myself, to admit I’m human and make mistakes, to let go of my pride and wanting to be perfect, to apologize, to forgive myself and others, and to ask forgiveness.
- Perhaps the learning is to rest, to pick myself up, ask for help, and to go on – like Elijah (I Kings 19:4-8)
To fold all 7 points into 1 – In the end, the only thing that matters is trying to LOVE all.
So, do any of the above ways work for you? Are there other strategies that you’ve found healing when you need to let go of guilt or undue pride?
