It’s Not about Blaming Others, but Finding Opportunities

Over the last six posts in this series, we talked about six crucial leadership lessons that all of us can learn from the life of Joseph as discussed in the Bible. To continue with the theme, today we want to bring to light a radically important element of Joseph’s story: his extraordinary ability to avoid blaming others and instead working his way through the great challenges he faced.

DO WE FIND JOSEPH BLAMING ANYBODY?
Joseph’s story is spread over ten chapters of the Book of Genesis and provides us ample detail to examine the choices he made growing up and the challenges he was tested with. We know he was hated by most of his brothers who could not put aside their hatred and eventually threw him in a dry well to die. We know that, before he could possibly be over the shock of such betrayal, he was taken by a caravan and sold in a market of Egypt as a slave. We know he was tempted by the wife of his master and, upon his refusal, she caused him to be thrown into jail for many years.

By the time he was taken out of jail, he was thirty years old, with all of his young years lost in the tests he faced. Meeting these extraordinary challenges, Joseph did not pause to blame those who had been so unfair to him. He did not lose faith in God, whom a lot of people so easily blame for their trials. Instead of playing the victim and wasting away opportunities in self-pity, Joseph decided to become a creator.

UNDERSTANDING THE CREATOR/VICTIM MINDSETS
The victim mindset is that of a person who blames other people and circumstances for their misfortunes. They do not take action to change their life because they prefer pointing fingers instead. This attitude can be addictive because it only requires us to cry, show no pride, begging for help, and live on the scraps other leave us. But there is no dignity in playing the victim.

"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world."
– Helen Keller

On the other hand, the creator mindset allows us to waste no time on blaming others. Instead, it makes us look for opportunities. It helps us build on our circumstances and use them to learn more about ourselves. A creator understands the unfairness they endured was the responsibility of those who perpetrated it, but how they react to this problem and let it impact their future is up to them. They understand they cannot blame what happened in their past for what they can do with their future.

"In life you can blame a lot of people and you can wallow in self-pity, or you can pick yourself up and say, ‘Listen, I have to be responsible for myself.’"
– Howard Schultz

Joseph chose to be a creator even when the challenges he faced in such young age were so extraordinary. When you come across problems in your life, which mindset will you choose?