Have you ever had a goal that you wanted to make for yourself, but then became paralyzed and took no action because you feel the path towards reaching that goal was just too hard? But have you ever stopped to think that choosing to not pursue your goals is also hard?
There are no easy paths in life… but you can choose your hard.
Let’s say you have a dream of improving your health. Whether that’s implementing exercise or fine-tuning your diet, you end up quitting because it’s just too hard. Or maybe you don’t even start at all because the task just seems too monumental.
But isn’t it also hard to not take action? Isn’t it hard to not feel healthy? To not have energy, feel weak and undernourished and sleep-deprived, or in pain because your body isn’t moving like it needs to.
Or maybe you really want to get your finances in order. You might be drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck. You might be living comfortably, but know that if you were strategic with your finances, you could make serious headway towards your dreams, whether that’s a comfortable retirement, grand travel plans, or simply leaving a legacy for your children after you are gone. But reaching goals like that is hard work, so you give up.
But not reaching your goals is also hard.
It’s hard to live under the weight of debt. It’s hard to feel the disappointment with each passing year that you didn’t work towards achieving your dreams, knowing that you had the potential to inch towards them with just a little work and discipline.
It’s hard to make new relationships. But it’s hard to be lonely.
It’s hard to keep a clean house. But it’s hard to live in a mess.
It’s hard to devote time and energy to spending time in the Word, praying, meditating. But it’s hard to feel distant from God.
I believe that our lives should be lived intentionally…being mindful of everything. A life that is lived without direction or purpose is a life whose potential is wasted. God has given us all individual gifts, dreams, and opportunities in this life. Sometimes life throws us curveballs, but God is nudging us to be disciplined to develop the skills and habits to approach those curveballs head on and hit a home run.
I want to encourage you today to think about the dreams you have but avoid because to turn them into goals seems too hard. Think about how you feel by not pursuing those dreams. Is it really easier to not take action? Maybe temporarily in the moment it is. It’s a lot easier for me in the moment to choose a cookie and a movie than it is a salad and a walk. But in the long run is it easier? Do my cumulative choices make my life easier or harder in the long run?
What areas of your life do you want to improve? Do you know someone who needs a little nudge of encouragement that you could share this with?
Life isn’t easy, but we get to choose our hard.
