Don't Wait Too Long

One of favorite thoughts to meditate on is adapted from Andy Stanley, a pastor and leader. He asks the question, "Will you be where you want to be five years from now by doing the things you're doing today?" I keep this on a whiteboard near my desk to serve as a reminder of the power of vision and daily discipline. I've written before about this statement and the need to have a clear focus on the five year goal to make sure you're able to achieve it. There's another piece to vision fulfillment that often gets overlooked however--it's the idea of making incremental forward progress.

The benefit of having a five year vision is it helps you make sure what you do today is having an impact on the future. The key to making that long-term goal a reality is to figure out how to accomplish part of it each year. It's not realistic to expect to make 2% progress towards your vision in years 1-4 and then cover the remaining 92% in year 5. The key to achieving lasting change is in our focused effort to make incremental improvements. Waiting too long to get moving in the right direction means we'll only be frustrated when we can't make huge leaps of progress. Learn to take things a piece at a time to find success.

Looking Ahead

I meditate often on a quote from Andy Stanley where he asks a focusing question. "Will you be where you want to be five years from now by doing what you're doing today?" It's a daily reminder that is written on one of my whiteboards. When I read it it serves as a reminder of the importance of what I am doing today and how it is building part of my future.

It might seem obvious to most people, but that question is really only effective if you have some idea of the kind of person you want to be in five years. If you don't have any objectives or even a directional goal, then it really doesn't matter what you are doing today. If we want to be forward thinking, holistically healthy people then we need to develop some concept of where we are headed and then work each day to get there. Our positive daily habits will fuel our future success.

Pre-Approved

The postal service delivers multiple offers in the mail each week for credit cards. Plastered across the front of the envelope are the words, "Pre-Approved!" Most of us just throw them away and are not fooled by that phrase that is intended to catch our eye and draw us in. We aren't suckered in by the marketing ploy and realize that everybody they send those out to is "pre-approved."

The funny thing is that we all are actually seeking approval. We look for it in our family relationships, our jobs, from people that we respect and even people we don't know that well. Constantly looking for ways to gain the positive affirmation of other people leaves us running through life like a lapdog who just wants to be called, "good girl/boy" and be scratched behind the ears.

We even impose the dynamics of the approval merry-go-round on our relationship with God. We believe the lie that we can be good enough for Him and that if we can maintain some level of righteousness that He will approve of us. We think that if we were pretty good in our choices and behavior this week that He loves us and if we had a "bad week" that He is disappointed and loves us less. We create human expectations for a supernatural relationship.

No wonder so many struggle with understanding the unconditional love that God has for us.

"As long as we view our deeds as a bridge to intimacy with and approval with God, we are depending upon our strength. God does not empower us to win His approval. We have all the approval we could ever need!" Andy Stanley, Louder Than Words