Deontay Wilder just lost a fight recently to Tyson Fury. Before Wilder’s loss, his record was 42-0-1, which means that he won 42 fights, lost none, and tied in 1. Out of those 42 fights, I think in 41 of those 42 fights, he “knocked out” his opponent.
Let’s rewind...
I do not know much about boxing nor do I have an interest in it either. I came to know of Wilder through social media. I would see his name and picture after every victory with statuses such as “The Greatest To Ever Do It”, “Another Win! Wilder’s a beast”, “Nobody is messing with Wilder”, “Wilder will remain undefeated”, and the list continues. People were extremely proud of him. People were rooting for him. People were praising him. People wanted him to win. People wanted him to remain undefeated.
Man, the energy was so amazing, esp since he was an African American male. It’s not everyday that this happens.
Stay with me...I’m about to drive this home...
This past Saturday, my timeline took a shift. I mean, drastically. The statuses that once praised Wilder, demeaned him. The statuses that once stated that he was the greatest to ever do it, stated that he was “sorry.” The statuses that once stated that Wilder will remain undefeated, stated that Wilder should’ve just stayed at home.
I had never seen a negative word written about Wilder before Saturday, before his loss. (Catch that.)
Here’s where I am going...
So often we get caught up in “people praise.”
We allow that praise to fuel our fire.
We allow that praise to cause us to go harder. We allow that praise to be our driving force...
...and I understand it. It feels good to have everyone rooting for you, everyone hoping that you win, everyone wanting the best for you.
IT IS A LOVELY FEELING.
Then if we aren’t careful, that praise can slowly creep in and become the foundation of who we are, defining how we see ourselves...WHILE FORGETTING THAT 98% OF THAT PRAISE IS CONDITIONAL. (Read that again.)
AS LONG AS we are winning...succeeding...and performing how people feel we should perform, we are the best to ever do it...but as soon as that shifts ...for whatever reason, the VERY SAME MOUTHS that praised us are now crucifying us, just as they did Jesus. (Wheeeew)
That’s why we cannot allow “people praise” to be our driving force, because it’s temporary. Your driving force has to be God and yourself.
Because let’s be honest, we (humans) are fickle, inconsistent, and unpredictable.
We have to stop letting people’s opinion (positive or negative) define who we are.
We need to know who we are with or without the crowd. We need to know that God calls us victorious, even in our losses...
