覺得疲乏時如何保持動力
By Dr. Rick Warren
有一句運動場上常說的話也適用於生活中的其他每個層面，包括工作場所，那就是：「不在於你如何開始，而在於你如何結束。」
當一個新的事物開始時，例如推出一個創新的產品、一個有想像力的行銷策略、或是實施一個新的科技，我們一向都會經歷高度的熱忱。在等待好結果中，期待很高，希望也高昂。
然而，這樣的精力和興奮情緒高峰很少能維持下去。不論那最終目標多值得去追求，當人們在半途遇到困難的挑戰，就常常會變得失望、灰心且疲乏。高昂的情緒開始退去，完成目標的實際辛苦與乏味開始浮現。
在這種時刻若對事情有適當的觀點就有幫助。當我開始覺得疲憊，我就看像箴言25章的經文。它提醒我感覺不是一個衡量事情進展的可靠方式。例如，箴言25章28節告訴我們：「人不制伏自己的心，好像毀壞的城邑沒有牆垣」。
感覺會上升也會旋轉，所以若我們要成功地完成我們開始做的事，就不能倚靠情緒。
我們的感覺來自各種不同的來源－－過去、現在和將來。但事實上，感覺常常說謊；它不一定反映實際狀況。不僅如此，生活是複雜的，我們一定常常有複雜的感覺：「人在喜笑中，心也憂愁；快樂至極就生愁苦」（箴言14章13節）。或者如有人所說：「有時我必須要笑，免得我哭出來。」
人們常把生命比喻成雲霄飛車，充滿了高山與低谷，但實際上，生命更像鐵道上的兩軌。一軌代表你生命中好的、正面的事；而另一軌代表壞的、痛苦的成份。
我們需要認清一個簡單的真理：我們總是會同時遭遇好事與壞事！在你的生活中一定會發生好事與壞事。我們無法期待這個月每件事都是好的，下個月每件事都是壞的。我們的生活都是這兩種的混合，苦與甜的混合。
雖然在生活中我們無法將好與壞分開，不論在工作或在家中，但當事情發生時，我們可以選擇我們的焦距，我們對事情的態度：「與喜樂的人要同樂；與哀哭的人要同哭」（羅馬書12章15節）。
這就是為何在抵抗生命中的風暴以及驚喜時，信靠上帝是這麼重要。如箴言3章5節所教導，我們要全心倚靠上帝，而不要把信心放在我們自己的感覺。感覺向海岸的浪，有漲潮與退潮；但上帝是信實的，永恆不變的。
本文版權屬於「標竿人生」。本文改編自華理克博士的專欄。他寫了許多書，包括廣受讚揚的「標竿人生」。這本書被翻譯成許多語言，並賣到全世界。這本書斷言，有一個經過你仔細考慮且清楚表達的目標去過每天的生活是重要的。這本書被認為是改變20世紀的100本基督教書籍之一。他也寫了「目標導向的教會」。
思想 / 討論題目
你以前是否聽過「不在於你如何開始，而在於你如何結束。」？這句話對你有何意義？ 本文作者談到在完成一件漫長且要求很多的工作中所碰到的灰心與疲乏。你曾否有這樣的經驗嗎？那時的情況是如何？你又如何處理？ 本文說情緒不是一個事情如何進展的可靠指標。為何我們的感覺會騙人並誤導人？ 我們被提醒要倚靠上帝和祂的信實，而不要倚靠自己對所遭遇情況的感覺。你覺得這提醒有幫助嗎？為什麼？註：若你有聖經且想要看有關此主題的其他經文，請看：
約書亞記1章6-9節；以賽亞書26章3節，40章31節，41章10節；馬太福音6章25-34節；腓立比書4章4-9、13、19節
HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED WHEN FEELING FATIGUED
By Dr. Rick Warren
There is a saying often applied to sporting events that also fits for virtually every other endeavor in everyday living, including the workplace: “It is not how you start, but how you finish.”
When a new initiative begins, such as rollout of an innovative product, an imaginative marketing strategy, or implementation of new technology, we typically experience high levels of enthusiasm. Expectations are lofty and hopes soar in anticipation of promising outcomes.
However, such peaks of energy and excitement are rarely sustained. It is not unusual for people to become disillusioned, discouraged and fatigued about halfway into a difficult challenge, no matter how worthwhile it may be to pursue. Emotions start to subside and the reality sets in about the hard work and drudgery required to bring a project to its conclusion.
At such times it helps to keep matters in proper perspective. When I start to feel the fatigue, I look to passages like Proverbs 25. It serves as a good reminder that my feelings are not a reliable measure of how things are going. For instance, Proverbs 25:28 tells us, “Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings.”
Feelings can soar and feelings can spiral, so we cannot trust in emotions if we are to successfully finish what we have started.
Our feelings come from a variety of sources – past, present and future. But in fact feelings often lie; they are not always a reflection of reality. Not only that, but life is complex and we must often live with mixed feelings: “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief” (Proverbs 14:13). Or as someone has said, “Sometimes I laugh to keep from crying.”
People often compare life to a rollercoaster, filled with a combination of hills and valleys, but in actuality, life is more like two rails on a railroad track. One rail represents the good and positive things in your life; the other represents the bad and painful elements of your life.
We need to recognize a simple truth: We will always encounter good and bad at the same time! There will always be something good and something bad happening in your life. We cannot expect everything to be good for one month and then everything to be bad the next month. We will always have a mixture of both, a blending of both bitter and sweet.
Although we cannot segregate the good from bad in our lives, whether at work or at home, we can choose our focus, our attitudes toward events as they occur: “When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow” (Romans 12:15).
That is why trust in God is so critical for withstanding the storms of life – as well as the pleasant surprises. As Proverbs 3:5 instructs us, we are to trust wholeheartedly in God and not to put any faith in our own perceptions. Perceptions can ebb and flow like waves on a beach; but God remains faithful and constant.
© 2011, Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved. Adapted from a column by Dr. Rick Warren, the author of numerous books, including the highly acclaimed, The Purpose-Drive Life, which has been translated into many languages and sold throughout the world. It affirms the importance of having a carefully considered, clearly expressed purpose to guide everyday life. It has been named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He also has written The Purpose-Driven Church.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
Have you heard the saying, “It is not how you start, but how you finish” before? What does that mean to you? Dr. Warren talks about discouragement and fatigue that often set in midway through a prolonged, demanding project. Have you ever experienced that? What were the circumstances – and how did you deal with it? It is stated that emotions are not a reliable indicator of how things are progressing. Why do you think our feelings can be so deceptive and misleading? Does it help you to be reminded that we are to trust God and His faithfulness, rather than our perceptions or present feelings about circumstances confronting us? Why or why not?NOTE: If you have a Bible, consider these other passages that relate to this topic:
Joshua 1:6-9; Isaiah 26:3, 40:31, 41:10; Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:4-9,13,19
