The Labyrinth of Achieving Goals

The list of successful failures would include the following: Bill Gates, Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, Ludwig van Beethoven, Thomas Edison, Frank Winfield Woolworth, Michael Jordan, Walter Disney, Winston Churchill, Steven Spielberg, Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, John Grisham, Henry Ford, Soichiro Honda, and Akio Morita (see a more detailed description here).

Each one of these would have come to their fair share of dead-ends and then had to back up and decide how to make it successfully to their goal.  That brings us to this week’s quote…

When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.  ~ Zig Ziglar

How would history be different without these individuals continuing to pursue their goals?  Some accomplished more than one goal and probably had many dead-ends.  Their labyrinth of achieving their goals were possibly paved with many dead-ends. However, no matter how many dead-ends they experienced, the ended up making it to their goals.

Obstacles are high, wide, or deep opportunities in disguise.  How we deal with those obstacles will determine the outcome of the opportunities. 

Do not let your goals be dead-ends, but rather turn around, try again and again until you reach the end of the labyrinth. 

Delusional Decision in a Dash - Joshua 9:3-14, 22

One of my weaknesses is a "good deal". Sometimes that is enhanced when I go near a clearance aisle. I may see things that I don't need, but could use, eventually, so I want it because of the price. Then that item takes a seat on a shelf or hides in a compartment till the one time I MAY need it.

Have you ever bought something at an auction? If you have, you know that sometimes you have to make a decision very quickly. Especially when it was something you didn't intend on purchasing. Not too long ago I was at an auction where I saw something in a miscellaneous bin that I wanted (bear in mind, I didn't need it). Being the frugal guy I am, I told myself I wasn't going to bid too high. So, the bin came around. It started about $10, then to $5, then to $1. My hand shot up then. WOW...$1 for the item I wanted, plus the other stuff. I was willing to go to about $3 for this one item. The auctioneer tried to get people to go the next level..but "SOLD!" to me for $1. That was good, I bought the item I had wanted (which I haven't used yet)...but the best part (for me) was that they had thrown in ANOTHER miscellaneous bin, too! All for only $1.00!!! SCORE!

Occasionally, those kinds of moments come our way and a spur-of-the-moment decision can become a positive one. However, some decisions like that can be not-so-good. Maybe it is deciding to go to a bar/party? Maybe it is looking at a classmate's test? Maybe it is fudging your taxes? Maybe it is looking longingly at someone's body? Maybe it is clicking on an internet link? Maybe it is not stopping at a stop sign? Maybe it is buying something that will take too much out of your monthly expenses?

As we looked Sunday at Joshua and his encounter with some 'neighbors', they presented him with a proposal and he took it. His decision was rash and had consequences. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Hesitate ~ If you're at an auction and you hesitate too long, you may lose out. Sometimes in life we parallel too many things with this way of thinking. We may think we are "losing out" when, in fact, we may end up winning. Glance through the list of "maybes" above and see if there are any categories that you have been in where you didn't hesitate, but gave in to making that decision. When I umpired baseball, one of the disciplines they teach you is to hesitate just a brief moment to make a decision on a close play, be it a pitch coming in or a out/safe call. To make it too fast you may not see the ball dropped, for example. So, to hesitate can help a person make a better decision.
2. Ask ~ Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs, chapter 15, verse 22: Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (NIV) When a quick decision must be made, you may not be able to "phone a friend". But there may be times when you can consult counsel for the time when you have to make a decision like that the next time. However, for those times when you do have some time to make a decision, it is good to have someone to discuss it with, getting various points of view, so you can make a good decision. Keep in mind that your first response should be asking God.
3. Direction ~ Which way do you go? North? South? East? West? Forward? Backward? Sideways? Up? Down? Life can hand us a whole list of choices. We want to know where we're supposed to be. Where can God use you in life? How can He use you in this or that situation? As you connect with Him, regularly, I think it will become clear what direction you will need to go in.

You may find one of these that may apply to things you are confronted with or subjected to, in life. However, these three things are also a simple formula to go through when you are faced with a spur-of-the-moment situation: Hesitate, Ask, Direction. When you're trying to decide think "H.A.D." to help you out!

Seeking Him in my Decisions...

What Direction Are You Moving?

Have you ever stepped down into a swimming pool where the water wasn't that warm? You felt the chill as soon as your foot was immersed. As you became more and more submerged you developed goose bumps, maybe even had your teeth chatter.

However, what happened after you stopped walking and stood for a few minutes? You felt OK...but then someone walked by you or you started walking again and you felt the chill, again! (Scientifically speaking, your body warmed that water immediately around you, that is why it felt comfortable.)

However, the more you moved around, the more comfortable it became. Movement can be uncomfortable at first, but it becomes more and more comfortable the more we move.

In the religious sense, I gladly label myself progressive. Specifically defined as not wanting to become stagnant. Stagnation is never good. I try to motivate people to be continually moving so we won't become stagnant. That brings us to this week's quote...

The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

When we stay where we are, figuratively or literally, we become more and more comfortable. Comfort has its place, but it can also cause us to lose sight of what is around us. This happens because we look at our environment so often we forget to actually "see" things. When we change things up a bit, we tend to notice things more.

What have you become comfortable with? What are you not noticing in areas like...Your job? Your church/religion? Your relationships? Your goals? Take a look around...see where God may be taking/moving you.

May we be challenged to move. Though it may be uncomfortable at first, the more we move, the more we'll become acclimatized and have progressed to a better place.

Nervous but looking forward to where God will move me...

Tomorrow...Where Your Thoughts Take You

Each day we take steps in the journey of life. We often find ourselves at crossroads and have to make a decision. Some decisions have greater effects on our lives than others do. Where we have come has a lot to do with the decisions that we have made in life...If/where we went to school, if/who we married, what job we take, where we live, buy vs. rent, friends we've made, etc.

Where have you come in life? Where have you gone? How have your decisions affected you? Life tends to be a series of choices and you choose based on your thoughts about each choice. This brings us to this week's quote...

You are today where your thoughts have brought you; 

you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.
~ James Allen

Maybe your life has been a storybook...the "happily ever after" type of life. However, most would probably think that wouldn't be the way you describe your life. Some choice along the way could have made it better. You may have a good life and are very content, and that is good. Regardless, the future is still the future and you have the potential to make it whatever you can.

Your tomorrow is based on the choices you make today, reflecting on the thoughts about those choices. Make your tomorrow better than today!

May your thoughts take you to an entirely better place than you have ever been!

Anticipating the future...

E-mail Encouragement: Being the Lighter, Not the Snuffer

As we are called to "deny self" on a regular basis, one way we can do that is by inspiring others...read on...

What this country needs is more people to inspire others with confidence, and fewer people to discourage any initiative in the right direction more to get into the thick of things, fewer to sit on the sidelines, merely finding fault more to point out what's right with the world, and fewer to keep harping on what's wrong with it and more who are interested in lighting candles, and fewer who blow them out.
- Father James Keller

Which one are you? May you be inspired to inspire others to do bigger and better things!

Have a great rest of the week and be "candle lighters"!!!

See you Saturday and/or Sunday!

Carrying my lighter ~