Building on the Good

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Life has a way of throwing us curveballs, doesn’t it? Like many others, I’m navigating a particularly challenging season in one area of my life right now. The saying “This too shall pass” is comforting in theory, but it doesn’t always make the present struggle easier to endure… Sometimes I have hope and sometimes the hope gets beaten out of me, until I pick up my hope and start again.

When you’re facing a big problem, it can feel all-consuming—like it’s taken over your entire world. It looms large, like an elephant sitting smack in the middle of your neatly kept lawn, impossible to ignore. If my life were a pie chart, this problem would feel like it’s taking up 99% of the space.

But recently, I’ve started to approach it differently. By stepping back emotionally and thinking more rationally, I’ve found a small but meaningful way to cope: distraction. Not the kind of distraction that ignores the problem entirely, but one that focuses on building up the good in other areas of my life. I’ve come up with a distraction that will make the torture just a little bit more bearable.

(I remember Jesus words ‘Pick up your Cross and follow me’ or in otherwords: pick up your torture, carry your pain and follow me, keep moving forward. Get up.)


By increasing the other parts of my life. By focusing on all the positive stuff going on. By not focusing on what is out of my hands and focusing on what is within my control to make a difference. And doing more of that. Increasing the blessings I can give.


(It’s better to give than to receive)

And it’s working. That once-dominating 99% of struggle now feels more like 40%. The other 60%—the good stuff I’ve been intentionally focusing on—helps me see my challenges in a new light. They’re still there, but they’re more manageable, less suffocating.

So, if you’re going through something similar, here’s my advice: focus on the positive things you can do. Look for the good already in your life and lean into it. Or, if you need to, find something new that adds meaning and joy to your days. Fill your pie chart with as much good as you can, so the bad doesn’t feel quite so overwhelming.

Life’s struggles may not disappear, but they don’t have to define the whole picture.

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