We Can Fix This

We humans have worked ourselves into a very specific narrative. When things are happening to me and I like them, life is good. When things are happening to me that I dislike, life is bad. And when life is bad, I need to fix it. I need to make it better.

There are problems on either side of this spectrum. People get everything they ever wanted and are miserable. Some will find addictions, commit crimes, or steadily insist on more and more, all while their level of satisfaction decreases if it moves at all.

On the other side, life becomes all about the problem in front of us. We look for the problem. We fix the problem. We feel better. Yet, we are shocked when a new problem arises very quickly. One byproduct of this worldview is we convince ourselves, over and over again, that if we can just fix this particular circumstance, everything will be ok.

How To Fix Things

We try to fix things for one very important reason. We are supposed to. The reason we take good for granted is because things are supposed to be good; they were designed for goodness. When things are bad, life just feels wrong. And our natural inclination is to make it right.

This becomes problematic when we struggle with definitions about what is good and what is bad. Which is something all of us struggle with. If we could get our perception right and accurate, trying to fix things would be a noble effort, as it often is in our world.

We fix things by taking ownership of the three things we can control. We steward our character and make our choices. This does not mean others will magically do what we want or the circumstances will transform into our ideal. It means all we can do is all we can do. We are responsible for our broken perspective and it is the only thing we can truly fix.

When Fixing Doesn’t Work

Our attempt to “fix” things is really an attempt to control. We want to make things happen the way we want them to happen. We want to force people and circumstances into our way, the right way.

Everyday, we drive ourselves crazy trying to control the world around us. We are trying to capture it, cage it, and train it to do as we please.

Our unhealthy obsession with “fixing” our problems can rob us of the very opportunities those problems present. The chance to be humbled, to learn and grow and experience something new, something more true. The opportunity to serve others who are also struggling or have struggled with the same problem.

And most importantly, to live a transcendent life no matter what we are going through. This doesn’t mean we are happy all the time. And it certainly doesn’t mean we won’t face any troubles. A victorious life is a life of perspective, not a life of perfected circumstances.

Our problems are an invitation to look at perhaps the biggest problem of all – our perception. And that is one we can fix! Letting our trials, triumphs, and tribulations challenge us toward a true perspective is all the fixing we need.