Strategy for Entrepreneurs Dealing with Failure and Regret
I've been studying the Bible intensely since 2014. A big part of this craving I have for the Word is that there are so many golden nuggets I can pick up for my entrepreneurial journey.
I seek to understand God more, see things from His perspective, gain wisdom, and be more like Christ, yet something keeps me from complete spiritual enlightenment.
Many of us Godpreneurs want to find that inner peace Jesus promises and improve our business lives. We seek to know God and align our will with His as the ultimate goal of our entrepreneurial journey, yet something is off with the steps we're taking.
Well, I discovered that the first step was easier than I could have imagined.
While at a men's retreat, the speaker talked extensively about depression and anxiety. He explained that we feel depressed when we're ruminating about something from the past. He then explained that anxiety is when we're stressed or worried about something in the future. His conclusion, therefore, is that living fully in the present is the only escape from depressing and anxious thoughts in our minds.
As business owners, we tend to live by correcting past mistakes or planning out future moves. We're constantly in our heads reminiscing of the good times or regretting the things we didn't do while bouncing to thoughts of the following plan, worried about the outcomes.
Meanwhile, we neglect the one moment that is fully available to us business owners: the present...the right now.
The Bible says
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34 ESV)
Jesus tells His followers not to worry about tomorrow. As He has already said, worry doesn't fix anything. Anxiety over things we cannot control or out of our reach makes no sense (Matthew 6:27).
Jesus says, in short, that you ought to let tomorrow worry about itself. He's not saying you can't or shouldn't make wise plans for your business. He's also not saying you should ignore anything but the most immediate questions. His context here is about the emotions of fear and anxiety.
Only the present is important because the battle to trust God never occurs in the past or future; it’s always happening in the current moment. When we're living in the Spirit and outside of our mental battle, our spirit allows us to feel something. Feelings (the Spirit) are only experienced in the present because your Spirit can only give you information about this specific moment.
So what's controlling us when we're stuck in the past or the future? Well, that's the enemy keeping us from the Spirit.
Jesus commands us Godpreneurs to focus on trust for God in a moment-by-moment way. We shouldn't try to solve all our problems, all time, all at once. Let God provide what is needed day by day.
As this suggests, there are no advantages to worrying about the future of your business or dwelling in the past, but there are many to living “in the now.” If you manage to achieve that, you’ll experience no major problems along your entrepreneurial journey, just small ones that can be dealt with as they arise.
Imagine if we all tried living in the present - dwelling with the Spirit. Let's stop allowing the enemy to take us to the past and fearing the future. If we did this, we would see how dramatically our business lives will improve.