Setbacks & Slingshots

Daily Meditation 1,058–1/27/2025

You’re a bodybuilder and get a hernia (or two, like I did).

You’re a budding parent and you and your spouse have a miscarriage.

You’re trying to become a house flipper, but the house you just bought now needs a new furnace, unexpectedly.

Life is full of setbacks. And that’s what they are — setbacks.

They shouldn’t be viewed as failures, as those are more finalistic. A setback is just that…setting you back, not nailing you to the ground on the spot.

I like to (try my best to) reframe setbacks as a slingshot.

As you place a marble into the slingshot and draw it back towards you, the marble isn’t really moving backwards, per se. It’s gathering energy and so are you, too, when you experience setbacks.

The hernia was an invitation to cut, to walk more, to deeply review your food intake, to see your trainer about what you can do.

The miscarriage is the opportunity to seek God, to meditate on the good you do have, to love your other children deeper and explain to them about life, maybe to take a short trip.

The flipper needing the surprise $5000 furnace is the chance to consider renting, instead, to help recoup the expenses, to learn from contractors and inspectors.

All setbacks are invitations.

They are the slingshots drawing you back to give you energy for the next move, not a grave pit.

In closing — enjoy the setbacks as best you can. Use them for recovering, resting, prayer, or strategizing.