Learning from your victories

Q2: How did you win your most difficult recent battle? What did you do right that helped you win?

Satan works hard to get us to forget. He wants us to forget how he beat us so he can use the same tactic again (see Learning from Failure). He wants us to forget why we fight. He wants us to forget to do our Border Patrol activities (also see Out of Sight, Out of Mind). This is one of the primary techniques he uses in this war. Another thing he wants us to forget is how we won. Ponder for just a moment, what does Satan gain when he persuades us to forget how we beat him?

It seems blatantly obvious that being able to repeat victories is essential to long-term success. Yet, Satan subtly gets us to minimize our victories and exaggerate our failures. This is partially why reflecting on recent victories is the second question of "The Captain's Log" in the book Like Dragons Did They Fight.

If you are having a hard time identifying how you won, start by replaying the story of what happened. It can be very helpful to tell someone or write it down. I find it both amusing and helpful to start with "There I was, minding my own business when…" After recounting the story, go back and identify the things you did correctly that helped you to win. Some people even develop an "arsenal" by writing down the "weapons" that they have successfully used to win battles. Identifying and drilling those techniques is a powerful way to build your Border Patrol and win battles before they even happen. The added benefit is that by drilling those strategies, they will come easily when you need them the most in battle.

A real-life example may be helpful to illustrate this. So there I was, minding my own business, trying to prepare to teach a Sunday School lesson when Satan hit me with a wave of "you don't feel like it." I paused to check how I felt and, sure enough, I no longer felt like preparing to teach my lesson. Satan quickly suggested an alternative activity that I did feel like doing, playing a game on my phone. The Holy Ghost chimed in and reminded me of how poorly my lesson went last time I didn't prepare, and how I felt about that afterward. After receiving those gracious reminders from the Holy Ghost, I got up and walked to the kitchen table where my lesson materials were. I still didn't feel like preparing for my lesson, but I did it anyway.

In this situation, I valued teaching a lesson that invited the Spirit and edified those who heard it. Satan attacked that value and offered an "innocent" alternative. I hope you noticed my levels on the Chemical Scale in this battle. Satan subtly spun me around the Satanic Spin until I was at a Level 2 (Unedifying Emotion), which in this case was "I don't feel like it." As soon as he got me to recognize the emotion he had planted in me, he hit me with a Level 3 (Dude Moment). In this battle the temptation was a blend of distraction and procrastination, to put off my preparations and play an "innocent and creative" game on my phone instead. Was it a lie that the game was "innocent and creative?"  Actually, no. I wouldn't have it on my phone if it wasn't. He was trying to get me to replace something that was "Better" with something that was merely "Good" (see "Good, Better, Best" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks). Fortunately for me, the Spirit stepped in and I acted on the promptings I received.

There were two major things I did right in this battle. The first was to act on the promptings I received. The second was to do what needed to be done regardless of how I felt. In the process, I ignored Satan's temptations and won the battle.

What things are you doing right to win your battles? How could you sharpen and improve those tools so you can win faster or better in the future?

If you'd like me to be your coach and help you put these principles into action, click this link to schedule a time to meet. onidah.youcanbook.me