Think Again!

134 • Think Again: Transformation That Yields a Return on God’s Investment

On the other hand, good circumstances can be deceiving. When everything is working you stop adapting. You fall back into old practices, thinking they are the reason for success. The enemy might even leave you alone, granting you paltry achievement in order to keep you from greater fruit. You can fall into pride, thinking you are the reason for your own triumph.

To become more adaptable, you must be willing to develop two skills: 1) embrace obscurity and 2) cultivate your imagination .

Embrace Obscurity The biggest obstacle to adaptability is the desire to win the approval of people . Throughout the history of human civilization, we have dedicated most of our physical and emotional energy to taking credit and avoiding blame, maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. We devote ourselves to appearing right in others’ eyes, hiding our inadequacies, and promoting our success. No one escapes this temptation. The gang-banger running the streets wants to impress his posse. The college professor covets approval from other academics. Each one wants to stand out among their peers. Each one desires the recognition that feels necessary for happiness. We all pursue the esteem of our little crowd, even though we differ on how to achieve that respect. Like people on an airplane whose only pilot has died, we desperately look to others for assurance that we are OK. When we are petrified by this kind of insecurity, our minds aren’t free enough to adapt. All our energy is wasted on getting approval. Living for admiration depletes all our ability to innovate, and leads only to despair. Created to Be Significant Embracing obscurity is challenging and counter-intuitive, because we are created by God to be significant. The impulse