The 16th Minute – What Happens When The Lights Fade?
I was reading the story of a vibrant young woman and it appeared as though she had everything… A college Division One Athlete, Law Degree, Ms. America and an Entertainment News Reporter. She was on top of the world and she accomplished all of this before the age of 30. But now, she is no longer with us. She took her own life by jumping from a building. This woman wrote that she was struggling to make her mark on this world, and felt like she was running out of time. And she wasn’t even 30 years old yet…
Many of us have been to the mountain top of accomplishments, only to find that they often lack the meaning that we attached to them while we were working for them. The goal defined us – we became the goal. Then when the goal was achieved – what were we supposed to do then? Where was the meaning of life after the lights faded?
When we attach our identity to achievements, once we reach them, and the cheering ends, we are left with what…? We can often feel empty and that life has no meaning. Next can come depression…. or we start to seek the next mountain, the next high. But what happens when we are all alone with our thoughts and it seems as though…. there has to be something more.
As a Pastor/Speaker, I have had the privilege to speak with others in the same field. I remember one Pastor told me that he just finished what he believe was the best message of his life. The response from almost all of the people was overwhelmingly positive. But there was this one person…. after the message, as the pastor was wishing everyone well and saying goodbye at the entrance to the church, one person came up to the pastor and said, “That message was way off-base, biblically inaccurate and utter rubbish and I will never be back.” Pretty harsh remarks, indeed.
Think about it – the pastor had just heard the praises from several hundred people who were moved by the message to change their lives and live for God – but one person had issues…
Which do you believe that the pastor took to heart? The complainer was all he could think about.
Why?
The pastor told me that he had attached his identity to performance and his gauge for how well he was doing was the praise of the people. So, when even one person spoke negative, he took that has he was bad and probably needed to just quit.
The lights had faded and he didn’t know what to do…
The same can be true for people leaving a long career and retiring, professional athletes retiring or having a career ending injury.
What do you think the answer is?
Well the problem that I am describing is leading to depression, anxiety, addictions, suicide, destroyed relationships and so much more.
What can be done?
We have to have a new way of identifying who we are. We need to be defining our worth on a different scale than public opinion. And then turn to our true why for life.
We are going to go more indepth into these topics in the coming weeks. I have a book coming out this Summer called –
The 16th Minute.
I hope you will check it out. I will be back in a couple of days and continue these discussions.
God Bless You!
Dr Cliff
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