Key Messages
Navigating Life’s Challenges With Jesus’s Teachings: Concrete Steps For Finding True Happiness And Meaning
In Didn’t See It Coming, author Wanda Thomas Blevins takes a reverent, respectful look at how to overcome life’s most challenging problems.
We all go through difficult transitions in our lives: fresh graduate to middle-aged cynic, high-flying executive to hardworking barista—but Jesus’s teachings can serve as a roadmap and provide guidance on how to face life’s toughest obstacles.
This book helps readers identify the seven great challenges in life: cynicism, compromise, disconnection, irrelevance, pride, burnout and emptiness.
Wanda then guides readers through these challenges with concrete steps and wise reflections that will help them overcome these problems even during their most overwhelming times.
If you feel like you’re losing hope or are drowning in the waters of regret and disappointment, Didn’t See It Coming offers an optimistic viewpoint showing us the power of the Lord’s teachings for navigating life’s greatest challenges.
How Jesus Can Help Overcome Cynicism And Regain An Idealistic Outlook On Life
Pastor Carey Nieuwhof, the author of Didn’t See It Coming, experienced this challenge firsthand early in his pastoral career.
He had set out to make everyone who attended his small church service feel special and looked after.
He showed his compassion toRoger and Mary by helping them out financially.
But when he found out that the reason they didn’t come to his services anymore was because he “didn’t do enough for them,” he felt betrayed and hurt– so much so that it made him stop caring about people.
That is when Pastor Carey realized something important: Becoming cynical doesn’t happen because you don’t care; it happens because you do.
In order to rise above cynicism, Pastor Carey knows one must first let Jesus into your life, which takes years but can also be done right now through actions like scheduling unstructured time for thinking and wondering differently; asking open-ended questions to those around you; actively listening to people; and keeping your curiosity alive no matter how hard life gets.
The Importance Of Uncompromised Character: Why Living According To Your Values Is Crucial For Happiness And Success
In Carey’s book “Didn’t See it Coming,” he makes a compelling case that no matter how competent or successful someone is, it’s ultimately their uncompromised character that will determine how far they get in life.
That means living according to their values, not succumbing to compromise, and having meaningful relationships that have an impact on those around them.
You might think that competence should be what matters most in life – being able to make money, buy stuff, and have a large professional network.
But if you’re basing your success solely on these things then you can be sure of one thing: you won’t find true or lasting happiness.
Good character is key for true fulfillment since it helps form meaningful and lasting relationships with people around us.
And the evidence for this can be seen by looking at the memorial services of those who have passed away – those with strong characters are remembered fondly whereas those who achieved great competence but compromised their values are often forgotten quickly.
It’s never easy to focus on our character development as it requires us to go into the difficult places within ourselves and understand why we act or react in certain ways.
But sacrificing our values for short-term gains always leads to long-term harm both to oneself and those closest to us – making it an easy choice of whether or not we want to work on our character building.
We Can All Benefit From Being Disconnected From Technology And Reconnected With Others
In his book, “Didn’t See It Coming”, Carey makes it very clear that technology is not the root cause of our disconnected lives; rather, it amplifies what’s already there.
Our preoccupation with social media and innability to spend quality time with people are often worsened by our over-reliance on technology.
Carey also admits that technology can be a useful tool and helps us stay connected to family and friends who live away from us.
But he points out that since technology amps up our worse habits, we should strive to limit its use in certain situations.
He advises people to turn their phones on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode throughout the day in order to avoid getting distracted when they should be focusing on important tasks or spending quality time with family.
Ultimately, Carey wants readers to understand that while our relationship with technology can greatly enhance our lives, when misused or abused it can also amplify disconnection which is often harder to repair than a broken phone.
Embrace Change And Fight Irrelevance To Deepen Your Impact
If you want to make an impact in this world, it is crucial that you don’t fall into the trap of becoming irrelevant.
Aunt Helen is a perfect example of a person whose style hasn’t evolved with the times – from the shag carpeting to the orange egg chair, her home is stuck in a bygone decade.
Even if her style suddenly becomes trendy again, she won’t even know that these items are now worth a fortune on eBay!
When we become resistant to change, we stand at risk of missing out on all that life has to offer us.
Our brains are wired to prefer what’s familiar and we devalue novelty for its own sake – it’s really hard getting out of our comfort zone.
And the more successful we become doing things our own way, the less likely we are to even bother trying something new.
However, those who embrace change and fight against irrelevance will deepen their impact.
When faced with a challenge or an unfamiliar situation, look for something bigger than yourself to stay focused on – like a mission or purpose.
This way you’ll always be up-to-date so that your cause can make use of today’s language when communicating your message.
Without change and adaptation there would not be progress or growth – only regret!
Counteracting Pride: Cultivating Humility To Avoid Isolation And Failure
When it comes to living a fulfilling life, having an excessive amount of pride can be incredibly damaging.
It can lead to insecurity, comparison, and suppressed joy of others’ accomplishments or successes.
When people are prideful in this way, they tend to not heed sound advice from those around them, often isolated from the valuable relationships that could help them thrive.
Fortunately, counteracting such pride is quite possible: cultivating humility is the answer.
We must practice humility and remind ourselves that we are only one part of a bigger tapestry full of knowledge and wisdom.
Practicing gratitude for what you have and having open dialogue with those around you helps foster humility.
A humble heart actively monitors your actions and humbles yourself before taking on any task.
Lastly, having honest self-reflection will hold you accountable and make sure you don’t think too highly of yourself.
It’s important to keep perspective and remember that we are all connected in some way while remaining mindful of each other’s successes as much as our own shortcomings.
How To Recognize And Recover From Burnout: Lessons From An Experienced Professional
Carey’s story shows us that recovering from burnout takes time and often requires extra help.
After his keynote address at North Point Church, Carey experienced the worst few months of his life.
He felt a dulling of the senses, nothing excited him anymore, he was exhausted and disproportionately emotional, he couldn’t focus on anything for long, and he hadn’t laughed in a long time.
He was in the grips of burnout but didn’t know how to get out of it.
However, with successful recovering from burnout comes patience and outside help.
To begin, getting in touch with a medical doctor who will be able to assess how deep your symptoms run is important.
Then, speak with a Christian counselor which can help deal with the spiritual roots of your burnout.
Having a supportive circle of family members, friends and colleagues while undergoing recovery has been crucial in Carey’s case too: these people provide guidance through tough times as well as offer tools and space to heal.
Most importantly — if you start down the path to recovery, don’t make any big decisions until you’re feeling better again!
You’ll need time to enjoy life without burning out again!
The Key To Overcoming The Feeling Of Emptiness Is Finding A Mission You Care About
Many people think that acquiring more material possessions or experiencing more success will make them happy.
But this isn’t always true, according to author Carey Nieuwhof and his book “Didn’t See It Coming”.
In fact, having too much stuff or success can sometimes leave you feeling emptier than before.
Carey’s life experience has taught him that striving for more tends to just create a void in your life instead of satisfying it.
He believes that rather than trying to fill the emptiness with material things, it is essential to find something that matters – a mission.
This mission has to be one which makes you give your life away for the purpose of helping others and serving a greater cause.
By doing this, Carey argues that you’ll end up filling up your life in an irreplaceable way – putting yourself on the path towards genuine happiness!
Wrap Up
The “Didn’t See It Coming” book provides a comprehensive summary of the seven biggest obstacles and challenges people face in life.
From cynicism to pride, disconnection to emptiness, these issues can be difficult to overcome if not handled adequately.
However, there is hope!
The authors offer a variety of practical solutions for tackling each challenge head on in order to make meaningful and rewarding difference in our lives and the lives of those around us.
Through thoughtful reflection, strategic planning and actions, readers are empowered to recognize and conquer these obstructions.
Put this knowledge into practice, and who knows? You could possibly change the world for the better!
