“ A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
If it is in the internet is true! The internet shows that Lao Tzu said “ A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
I can picture this middle-age Chinese man, at the top of a mountain, with his rag-ish outfit, in his back a brown-ish backpack, sun is coming up through the foggy jungles of Asia. Breaking through the sound of bugs and birds he looks to the horizon and quietly says: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Wow, I think I went too far. The fact is that I am a all or nothing type a person, a first step is always huge to me, specially when demands content and creativity. I don’t like to start something that I wouldn’t keep, I hate starting things that I won’t be consistent, that doesn’t mean that discontinuing this blog is not a possibility but simply that I hate not finishing what I start and this is what usually keeps me from taking on new opportunities and responsibilities. This blog is about my life, my journey in this world, through leadership dealing with real problems, like burnout, depression, anxiety, transitions.
The name of the blog comes from something that myself and so many other leaders suffer with; I call it “the Super Hero Complex”. I know there is already a condition called this way, however my focus is in christian leaders, so the super hero complex in my perspective is revealed in:
Somebody that doesn’t rest, doesn’t stop, doesn’t recognize limits, doesn’t set boundaries, is always pushing forward, always marching towards the goal, overwhelms himself, over-commits, doesn’t say no, is always available, always on duty, feels guilty when doesn’t have time or the resources to solve a problem, freaks out when things get out of his control.
These symptoms have taken me to deep depression to the point where I considered to take my own life. I’m in treatment now, but it is not an easy path, so I thought I would share my experience with you so you can be an encouragement to somebody else or even be encouraged for the fact that you are not the only one that is struggling with those things. It hurts, it is dark, it is complex, there is no simple fix, but there is hope in Jesus and I am excited to share about the battles that I’ve won and also about the ones that I’ve lost. I hope you benefit from it.
Who am I?My name is Eduardo Araujo, I’m a dreamer, a mission-driven christian, a leader in constant development, a husband to Marthina, a dad to Filipi (14) and Rebecah (12), an agent of change, a learner, a servant. I have decided to dedicate my whole life to make God’s name known among all nations, but sometimes I don’t have the energy to do it, sometimes I love myself more, sometimes I just want to seat on my couch and watch Netflix, sometimes I don’t even want to see or talk to people, I am currently starting in a new position as a Youth Ministries Coach in Northern Alabama with Word of Life Fellowship. I have been serving in full time ministry for 15 years now. I do believe we will reach the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ equipping, empowering and encouraging the next generation of christians to step up and make themselves available to God to use them.
What can you expect about this blog? I want to share in a very honest, transparent, funny and acid way what happens behind the mask. I also intend to edit the least possible in each post, so you can feel the most raw and deep thoughts as you read (Is that going to be good? I don’t know). Missionaries, pastors and christian leaders have been labeled as super heroes, and many times we pretend we are. I’m done with wearing a mask myself. I want to share with you what really goes inside a mind and a heart behind the mask, not of all christian workers, but this one right here.
Why a blog? When I told my wife I was starting a blog, she asked: “Does people still read that?” I said of course, but honestly in a world of youtubers not many people take time to read blogs. Can I change that? I don’t know. Will that keep me from do it? Nope. As I’ve mentioned before this is a first step. Maybe one day I’ll have an youtube channel, but today I don’t have the time to edit videos. I am beginning a long journey with a single step. I hope you enjoy the ride.
ALTURA 14 
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