Sudden problems are hardly ever sudden at all, but the first visible symptom of a deeper, long-standing fault in yourself that would probably be much more visible to an outsider. Much like a plantar wart, if you fail to do the more painful work of digging out the root of the problem, you are just going to face even greater pain later. It is not uncommon to require the assistance of a mentor to help you see and totally address the lack of understanding that caused an unexpected consequence. Challenges beyond your ability can show you who you are and help you become better, but you’ll probably still need the help of another person to see and address them. Seek out someone who saw it coming to help you better prepare for the future. Look for those who have what you want, and openly investigate whether the new beliefs or actions that worked for them will work for you.
When you find yourself with problems you can’t solve, needs that you can’t meet, questions you can’t answer, and desires that remain unfulfilled, be open to new ideas, actions, and people that are different from what you’ve already tried.1
Footnotes
- 1. Consider how the man born blind in John 9 was willing to explore the unlikely possibility that rubbing mud in his eyes and walking way outside the city might cause him to see, since nothing else had worked to that point. ↩