Emotions - Confusion (1)

Confusion

“Confusion” means disorder; it is a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior, a mix of several things, the inability to differentiate, disorientation, difficulty distinguishing.

Synonyms for “confusion” are: hallucination, turmoil, disconcertment, discomposure, mistake, error, disorder, chaos, anarchy, trouble, mess, muddle, uneasiness.

Confusion is an emotion related with destruction, defeat, failure, being mistaken, losing. Pele and Maradona are considered the best soccer players in history, and I remember hearing commentaries from my friends saying that they never knew what was going to come out of the play; Pele and Maradona would confuse the other team. Baseball pitchers and batters, football quarterbacks, and basketball guards try to do the same.

The terrorists plan their attacks, not just to destroy a building or to make a car explode, but to create confusion. The greatest damage of the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington, in addition to all the lost lives, was the chaos produced due to confusion. Nobody knew what was happening and what else was going to occur. Wall Street was demolished, a lot of companies went bankrupt, and entire families moved to other cities, states, or countries. The terrorists achieved their objective by creating confusion in towns, the economy, and politics and among tourists and airlines, etc. Confusion is a weapon utilized to weaken one’s opponent.

God confused the Egyptians when the Israelites were crossing the Red Sea. The Scriptures declare, “At the morning watch, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians’ ” (Exodus 14:24-25).

I will never forget the explanation I received about how confusion compares to the windshield of a car. I cannot drive a car with a misty windshield because I cannot see what is in front of me. I have to wait a few minutes until I am able to see where I am headed clearly. Confusion is like a misty windshield, and I have to wait until I have a better vision of what is happening in my life.

When confusion is present in any situation in your life, you should clearly understand that you are in the middle of an attack intended to make you choose wrongly and to make you fail. At that moment you should stop and wait until the windshield of your situation is clear. That is the right time to take a closer look at what is happening in order to use the proper tools so that you come to the correct decision.

In a moment of confusion, one person can kill another. A minute later, there is no confusion, but the decision has already been made and the consequences of the decision must be faced. How many of us end up in jail, how many of us have fallen into infidelity and adultery, how many of us have been fired, how many business opportunities have we wasted, how many of people close to us have we hurt because of too quickly making decisions when we are confused?

Emotions - Confusion (2)

What to do?

The opposites of confusion are order, tranquility, calm, serenity, peace, classification, organization, systematization, and method.

If confusion is the inability or incapacity to differentiate or difficulty distinguishing, the best tool to end confusion is vision. We cannot permit circumstances of the moment to stop us from seeing where we are heading. We should search for that clarity, the vision that gives us the tools we need so that confusion will not overtake our senses and our minds.

If you make a decision led by confusion, when time passes, and you meditate on it, you will notice that you took action too quickly, that you made a mistake, and you will want to turn back the hand of time to correct it. Obviously, you will be unsuccessful.

It is important to remember that confusion, like other emotions and feelings, is temporary; they are here today, but they may not be here tomorrow. However, vision will be here today, tomorrow, and always. Vision gives you the security to know the path you should take towards your destiny, even though you cannot touch it or you have not arrived at it yet. Let me explain: by definition, vision is the immediate and direct view without a sensible perception. Confused? It means that vision is not necessarily associated with reality. I can have a different vision from yours about the same subject. Even though both perceptions are different, they are both valid because our paths and destinies are not the same. If you hold on firmly to a vision of your destiny, then you will stop feeling the temporary confusion you are experiencing. To make it more clear, let’s look at the negative perspective. Until you know what your vision is—even though it has not become a reality yet—confusion will govern your mind and your thoughts and lead you to make mistakes.

A plane ticket from Los Angeles to New York gives you a vision of where your trip will end, even if you are not even at the airport yet. The flight could have voids or delays; it can be slow or fast, comfortable or uncomfortable; it can have stops and connections, but you know, thanks to vision, that sooner or later you will arrive at your destination, and so you can endure any distress. Everyone goes through those uncomfortable moments in a different manner. Some sleep through them; others play with their portable computers; others go to the bathroom 10 times; others look outside the window all the time; still others read, work, pray, or drink, but nobody, absolutely nobody, jumps off the plane in the middle of the flight, no matter how confused they might be.

Do not give up on your destiny because you do not have vision, and consequently confusion can take a hold of your life. It is not bad to feel confused; the mistake is to make decisions when you are confused. That is why you need to stop and focus on the destiny that has been prepared for you. Focus on your desires, your dreams, your yearnings, and your promises. Every time you do this, you will reduce the possibility of facing negative consequences that arise due to mistakes you have made.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18

Important

Confusion’s goal is to keep us where we are, to stop us from seeing where we are going.

Suggestions

Write a dream that you have always had that came true.

Write two desires you have always wanted to fulfill

For a few minutes think about those desires and that dream that have not come true yet. Imagine living that dream and getting those desires fulfilled. Close your eyes and thank God for the vision He is giving you, for the wonderful things He is showing you, for a future with blessings for you and your family. Now take pen and paper and write down that vision you are having, so every time you feel confused, you can remember your destiny and where you are heading.

“Problems are those circumstances you see
When you have not defined your goals”
Anonymous

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you have imagined”
Henry David Thoreau
American Writer, Philosopher, and Naturalist