I’ve been through many storms in my years
no matter the rain, thunder, or tearing wind
the most destructive storms grew in my mind
Calming that storm
Quieted all others
The Storms
My life has been filled with waves, rain, and wind. No matter how hard I try and how safe I think I am, the only guarantee is that storms will come.
Some storms are small and provide a break from the sunshine. Other storms are more significant and put stability at risk.
Hurricane Mitch
My wife is from Honduras, a country in the middle of Central America. Some of the most hard-working, loving, and caring people I’ve met have been found during my visits to this country.
And I wouldn’t have had the chance to get to know the people, nor my wife, if it hadn’t been for Hurricane Mitch.
Mitch claimed over 7,000 lives in Honduras and wiped out much of the country’s infrastructure. It was a Category 5 hurricane that did something rare—
it stalled.
Instead of passing quickly, Mitch lingered over Honduras for days, causing catastrophic damage.
The storms that loom
Like Hurricane Mitch, the most impactful storms are the ones that don’t move along like they should. They cause catastrophic damage, yet these storms are easy to define.
They’re the storm that we allow to live in our hearts and minds and camp there for a prolonged period.
The challenge - it’s likely that we’re somehow believing these lies that tell us that we’re
wasting our efforts,
feeling unnoticed and unappreciated,
set up for failure.
We’re against a flow that wasn’t shared with us and didn’t want us involved.
It leaves us dissatisfied and aimless - not because we want to be.
We find ourselves in this place, wondering how we got there.
But we camp there for days, weeks, months…years.
The Five Questions
Five questions must be answered daily, representing a core set of opportunities to define or redefine our identity.
Because they cut through most of the protections that we build up.
1. Am I doing the right things?
2. Are my contributions valuable?
3. Am I empowered to be effective?
4. Are my actions aligned with essential goals?
5. Do I find purpose and fulfillment? Your journey to how you answer these questions matters. Because you matter.
And you don’t deserve the pain of a Category 5 hurricane that sits on your shoulders and doesn’t move along.
The Recovery
After Hurricane Mitch, hundreds of aid workers and missionaries flocked to Honduras to serve the people. My first trip there was with my church, where we served a community by rebuilding a school. My second, third, and fourth trips were to facilitate trips to construct businesses, deliver medicine, and get to know the people.
They’d been through a devastating storm, profound loss and pain, and a challenge that I could not comprehend.
My wife, who had moved to the US a few years after Hurricane Mitch, went back to serve on a mission trip as an interpreter, and it just so happened that it was the trip that I was leading.
The storms we face, both external and internal, can be overwhelming. But just as Honduras rebuilt after Mitch, we too can rebuild after our personal hurricanes.
Answer the five questions. Reclaim your peace.
You don’t deserve a storm that lingers – you deserve the calm that comes after.
Here’s your Opportunity
To break free of your storms, you must have clarity on your goals and vision.
We provide templates to help you write your vision and plans to capture the vision you are uniquely empowered to accomplish.
Our Vision / Mission / Values template can help you look in the mirror and feel empowered.
Our 2024 planning will help you move purposefully and confidently in the months and years ahead.
We aim to help you become your best self and lead others to be their best self.
-Your friends at OutsmartChaos.
Your Takeaway
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