Four Secrets to Overcoming Conflict In Your Search For A Meaningful Life
My interview with Donald Miller about thriving in conflict
I’d never cried on a plane before. And definitely not while watching a movie based on a children’s book.
But coming home from Rwanda, with the judging eyes of a 17 year-old girl in the seat beside me, I bawled my eyes out at the end of Harry Potter.
In my defense, I was really tired.
We were also expanding our work to Rwanda, I was overwhelmed with how we’d find the money, and I’d just spent a week hearing horror stories from the Rwandan Genocide.
But something about Harry Potter pushed me over the edge. There was so much conflict in the life of this young boy that it dragged me into a weepy oblivion.
I cried because I resonate with Harry.
While there is no murderous wizard hell bent on killing me and all my friends, the last five years of my life have been an experiment in thriving and surviving in the midst of conflict.
The truth: A great story, in order to be great, needs significant conflict.
In June of this year I was invited by my friend Donald Miller to be involved in the Storyline Conference at my alma mater, Westmont College, in Santa Barbara, California. It was a great opportunity for me to share about These Numbers Have Faces, but the bulk of my interview was revealing the Four Secrets I’ve learned to survive conflict in search of a meaningful life.
Listen to my 10 minute interview with Donald Miller. Feel free to follow along with the notes below.
Four Secrets to Overcoming Conflict in Your Search of a Meaningful Life
1. The Revolutionary Act of Showing Up Everyday.
When all hope feels lost, there is infinite power in simply getting up, putting on your shoes, and putting one foot in front of the other.
2. Learn To Not Over-Identify With Your Work.
You are not your job description.
You’ll be paralyzed when you’re over invested in success and over terrified of failure.
3. Learn to Live and Work in the Midst of Fear.
If you’re not scared you’re not doing it right
Just keep going
Fear is an ally and indicator for love. The more you love something the more you fear it because you know it can hurt you.
4. You’re Meant To Do Incomplete Work.
Your vision is not yours
You will build shaky and underdeveloped structures and need others to come alongside
You’re just the worker, not the master builder.
Your fumbling process is an opportunity for God’s grace to come in and do the rest
The Prayer For Oscar Romero – Prophets Of A Future Not Our Own
What conflict are you currently facing? What are the steps you can take to overcome it? What's holding you back?
Let's start the conversation.
- JZ/HP
Photo Credit: HarryPotter.wikia.com