What Are You Looking For?

I like to go to bookstores and browse.

One time, while looking through the new releases, a store employee came up to me and asked, “What are you looking for?”

I said, “Oh, nothing in particular; I’m just browsing.”

And, then, this thought came to me…

Isn’t that how many people are living their lives?

Many people go through life just browsing, not knowing what they’re looking for and simply gravitating to whatever is colorful and attention-getting.

They go for whatever catches their eye.

In a bookstore, it’s called browsing.

In life, it’s called drifting.

And when we drift in life we tend to demonstrate self-destructive behaviors, think negative thoughts, and make false assumptions.

Since we haven’t defined what we’re looking for, we end up focusing on the wrong things.

We look for things to criticize instead of things to celebrate.

We look for ways to tear down others instead of ways to build others up.

We look for how we can win instead of how we can help others win.

We look for faults in others instead of seeing the best in others.

We look to raise ourselves by diminishing others.

We look for problems instead of solutions.

We look for what’s wrong instead of noticing what’s right.

We look for things to complain about instead of reasons to be joyful.

We look for threats instead of opportunities.

We look for power in self instead of looking for power in God.

So, let me ask you the same question that employee asked me…

What are you looking for?