I love getting discouraged. It’s a wonderful opportunity to put my spiritual tools to use.

Kidding! 

I haaaaaaate getting discouraged. It’s like falling into a dark, slimy hole. Everything was fine! I was doing so well! And then I tripped and fell into a horrible hole and it feels like I can’t get out.

Back when I was playing the piano a lot, I had a tendency to get discouraged after live performances. It happened so often, I adopted a term for my discouragement: Piano Prison.

After suffering in Piano Prison long enough, I discovered a way out – a technique I read about in a book by Louise Hay. After a public appearance, she would focus first on all that went well. Then, and only then, would she allow herself to review the areas of potential improvement.

This technique allowed her to view her mistakes in context. With perspective.

This perspective worked really well to keep me out of Piano Prison, but I relegated the technique to that function and that function only.

Until I became a minister. Then I resurrected the technique for use after our Sunday morning talks and music and, once again, it did the trick.

But recently, I realized that the technique has a much broader scope.

It started, unsurprisingly, with a period of discouragement.

Melissa and I first developed OhMyGodLife eight years ago. In that time, it has been steadily growing. We produce weekly inspirational content and share it with our mailing list and on social media. We speak and perform our music around the country – both in person and online. We have 200 folks who donate to our ministry on a monthly basis.

Sounds great, right?

That’s because I’m speaking in context. With perspective.

Melissa and I, like other folks running a business or a non-profit, can lose this context and perspective.

We feel like we’re not doing enough. That we’re not reaching enough people. That we’re somehow supposed to be Better/Bigger/More.

One day, when we found ourselves in a particularly deep ditch of Worse/Smaller/Less, I had an idea.

Why not apply the Piano Prison technique to our ministry as a whole?

In other words, we could look for all the good things, all the things that are going well. In this case, we specifically focused on all the progress we’ve made. On the continual growth and expansion we’ve seen.

When we compared where we’ve been to where we are now, our mood began to lift.

What started as a Ministry Minefield became a Field of Fun and Fabulousness.

It was the same approach as my release from Piano Prison, but applied more globally. To our whole life.

And, just like the Piano Prison trick, it worked wonders.

Now, when we find ourselves in a Ministry Minefield, we bust out the old technique.

Not always right away. Sometimes we suffer through the minefield for a spell.

But then we remember.

And we frolic around the Field of Fun and Fabulousness.

How do you get yourself out of discouragement? Share your comments below!

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