COACHING TIP: Create a better relationship with your future by building in the ‘assess and adjust’ after each big step you take.
What if with one sentence I could take tremendous pressure off of you? I really mean this. You are not responsible for your future’s outcomes. You are responsible, for the choices you make today. These choices shape your tomorrows but they do not guarantee certain outcomes. Think of it as changing our relationship with the future.
We are good at taking a first step. But so often things fall flat after that because without realizing it, we had a sense of what the future would look like, and when we can’t even get the first couple of steps to look a certain way, we throw in the towel and sit sidelined or we turn into bulldozers, determined to make it happened no matter the cost.
By building in ‘assess and adjust time’ after each major step you make you give God permission to stay in charge and to nudge you as He sees fit. This will help us to 1. Not give up or 2. Not run ahead of God.
TELLING ON MYSELF: I met with my Fitness Connection Evaluator feeling a tremendous amount of success just having scheduled and kept the appointment. Fitness wise, things were really looking up! My BMI was in the average range for my age and I was just about able to do everything he asked me to do during our assessment. Home run! Feeling good about the future, I asked about getting started with a trainer to help with pacing. He of course, was quite excited by the prospects of a sign on. We filled out the paperwork and put my contract on hold, pending a conversation with my husband. The future looked bright!
About three days later, I still couldn’t walk without pain and I felt fatigued. My body communicated with me, telling me that my plans were too aggressive. When Raul called me back, I told him I was trying to do ‘too much, too soon.’ Ah! The story of my life! Typically my desires are not bad, but my timelines are usually far too aggressive.
Now what? If not ‘all or nothing,’ what would it be?
After acknowledging and facing the fact that I am getting older, I could realistically consider a next best step.
While I wanted the future to look a certain way and in a certain time frame, I had to let that go. Not to give up on everything – but certainly recognize that I could not call the shots the way I had hoped I could. After I got through my initial wrestling match with myself, I walked back into that gym with a much more manageable and reasonable goal in mind. Two days later, I am able to walk normally.
COACHING APPLICATION: How many times do we give up before we even give ourselves a chance? While the future may seem so far away and perhaps very bleak, God has given you today. And this truly is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
- How can you redirect and rejoice in this day that He has given you?
- How can you walk in today?
- What does it look like to build in ‘assess and adjust’ time after your next step?
Some of God’s instructions pertaining to the future (click on the sentence to bring you to scripture):
No need to worry about tomorrow.
Focus on doing the right thing today and acknowledge God’s control of your tomorrows.
Practice sober mindedness about your activities, keeping eternity in view.
Don’t lose heart even as your own body begins to fail you! God has a future in store for you!