Thursday, January 2, 2014

January 1, 2014

A new year, a new beginning.  Out with the old and in with the new.  If only we could trade out our physical and spiritual bodies so easily.  I’m sure most people would love to be able to wake up in the New Year with a new body, forgotten bad emotions, and recharged spiritually.  That is not the life we live.  When I was a kid I used to dream that while I slept somehow my body would be changed and I’d wake up the next morning with muscles and really physically fit.  It never happened.

Life takes work and our best work takes preparation and practice.  The more of either we do the better.  Preparation and practice take a plan.  I learned quickly coaching football that the better the practice plan I had the better chance the team had of becoming the players and implementing the plays and game plan we’d make, and thus, winning the games.  So, what is my New Year plan of practice for my physical body and spirit?  If I don’t have one, then I must consider that my chances of “winning the game” or being who I want to be or better yet, who God made me to be, will probably not happen.

Tony Dungy says, “Real success in achieving goals comes when we know we can’t do it by ourselves and look to the Lord for strength.”  My first step must be to look to God and to put myself in a position of thought and trust that any result is because of God and God alone.  I must remember that without self-discipline success isn’t possible.  I must analyze what must sacrifice so the self-discipline is possible.

As a kid, I quit dreaming and started lifting weights.  Once a day a first, but then twice a day with running in between workouts.  I did not change overnight, but I did change.  Two years later my physical body was very different and very strong. 

If I want to be different tomorrow, I must do something different today.  I must make a practice plan and exercise self-discipline where necessary to be different.  God has provided the tools, I must choose to meet Him and be open to His coaching.

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