What Do You Have to Have?
So, here's a question for you: "What do you want?"
Could you be a little more specific, Dave?
Sure...
Pick an important aspect of life, and ask yourself, "What do I want in this arena?"
Perhaps, your physical condition is becoming more important to you. In such an instance, your answer might be something like, "I want to loose fifteen pounds through diet and exercise."
Or, if it's the quality of your relationships you're wanting to focus on, your answer might be, "I want to become a better listener."
Whatever the arena, hone in on it, and ask yourself the above question.
Desire greater intimacy with God? Even Divine Union with Him?
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Okay, so here's a follow-up question, and answering it may be even more important than answering the first question: Are you willing to pay the price to get what you want?
Uggghh! [Yeah, I'm right there with you.]
As difficult as it might be, answer the question as honestly as you can. Here's a suggestion to help you in this regard: On a scale of 0 to 10 (See 1) how willing are you to pay the price?
If your answer is anything below a "9," you need to revise your goal/desire statement.
Why is that?
Well, if you're not at a "9" or "10," you need to revise your desire statement because it's NOT something you really feel you have to have. It's as simple as that.
So, maybe you rated yourself a "7." Go back to your desire statement and ask yourself the following questions:
What will loosing 15-lbs (or whatever your goal/desire is) get me?
Why is that important to me? (Will I feel better? Will it increase my self-confidence? Or will I, perhaps, experience some degree of self-transcendence? [See 2])
Going through the above questions will help you refine your desire statement into a have to have statement. Go through this exercise until your willingness to pay the price is either a "9" or "10," and then write it down in the form of a vision statement. The statement should be clear and concise and should include also a time component as well as the hoped for payoff (e.g., feelings of satisfaction you want to feel, the experience of self-transcendence, etc.). Once you do that, start putting together a plan (of discrete, small steps) to "pay" what you need to pay, and begin to execute the first step immediately. Oh, and tell someone who will support you what you have to have and how willing you are to pay the price. Ask them if they'll check-up on you daily to see how you're doing with implementing your plan.
We'll delve a little more into this next week. More specifically, we'll look at the whole concept of "aiming past the target."
Until then, God's peace to you, friends...
Dave
Notes:
On the above scale, a "0" is an emphatic "No" and a "10" is a "Come hell or high water, nothing will stop me."
Self-transcendence (from Merriam-Webster): the act of transcending oneself or the capacity to transcend oneself or the capacity to rise above or extend notably beyond one's ordinary limits.
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