This post is a result of a discussion with a friend...
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During lunch, without much thought I said in our casual conversation that there is a danger in defending what we are doing.
When I said it, I joked that this may make a good post one day and stored the note in the Evernote App on my iPhone....(you're welcome Evernote and Apple for the free advertisement!).
I think I also winced at the realization that this is the very thing I had been doing in a situation I was facing.
We have heard it said that the best defense is a good offense. In a football game, if a team can get points on the board and gets a good lead, the defense will appear to be better. An amazing play and score by the team who is down by 21 points in the 4th quarter usually doesn't reflect too poorly on the defensive squad on the field.
This is not meant to be a case against defense, or minimizing the importance of defense. We could argue that a good defense neutralizes an opposing offense, evening out the odds of the engagement.
The fact of the matter is I am not talking about football. I am talking about our lives. The game that is going on is the one within our mind. I think that in a sense each of us has a competition waging inside of ourselves.
This battle is between us taking a defensive stance and defending who we are, or taking an offensive stance and changing who we are.
Which brings us to the "The Danger of Defending What We Are Doing". This is not to imply that what we are doing is wrong. It may be the best thing for us at the time, note I did't say the danger of what we are doing.
When we become "defensive" about our decisions for how we choose to live our lives, we should take a hard look at why we feel the need to defend, or get defensive?
Is it because we are trying to convince ourselves that our current state is a result of circumstances out of our control? Or is it that we fear the prospect of actually trying to make changes, as if it may invalidate our current course, or worse yet validate the "critics" in our lives?
Whatever the reason, I propose that whenever we sense ourselves getting "defensive", we should shift our focus to being offensive instead.
How does this look?
Here is one example. Instead of convincing ourselves that all our problems are external and working hard to defend our current state, take a moment to reflect upon how I can think and act differently to change myself and my situation.
The mastery of oneself is a task that is difficult indeed. If you don't agree, try to change your eating habits and you'll get a quick reminder of how hard it is. Just because it is hard, does not mean it is not worth it.
I recently heard a quote from Andy Stanley that resonated with me. He said it is easier to educate a doer, than activate a thinker.
In the arena of the mind, defense is often a mental exercise that amounts to thinking about reasons for us to stay the same. Contrastingly, offense is concerned with taking action to change course and actually apply lessons learned.
As with any strategy, there is a time for each stance. I am not saying defense is a bad thing, or that we should not defend certain aspects of our life. One aspect that may be worth defending, is our faith, or core values. I would also argue that one of the best defenses of our faith comes from living a changed life rather than just having a good theological argument. It's more about what we do and how we are actually living than what we are saying in and of itself.
I am saying that it seems that the people who are most successful, spend more time acting vs sitting down, crossing their arms and defending what they are doing.
There is value in the consideration of a change of course in what we are doing.
We have probably all heard that the definition of insanity is repeating the same and expecting different results. Now using the term insanity is somewhat extreme, and some would say downright inaccurate, I don't disagree. However, I think most of us would agree that it is usually not in our best interest to defend the status quo, if that status quo does not appear to be working.
Right now you have a choice. You have an opportunity to learn something new and act towards implementing that change in your life.
Are you going to quickly say this doesn't apply to me and move on? Or will you take a moment to address the elephant in the room of your mind and work towards getting offensive and making meaningful and significant change in your life, instead of falling into the pitfall and danger of defending what you are doing?
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