We Must Stop Waiting For The Stars To Align And Start Making Life Happen! Stop Waiting For Your Ship To Come In And Swim Out To It!

How often have we told ourselves, “Once ________ happens, I’m going to _______!”

That is “Stinkin’ Thinkin’” right there!

Sadly, that was my thought process for roughly 25 years of my life! Especially as it related to health and wellness.

I’d tell myself, “Once I save enough money to buy a weight set (or get my budget under control so I can join a gym), I’m going to start working out!” OR, “Once I’ve researched enough information and discovered the perfect diet, I’m gonna start losing weight!” AND MY ALL-TIME GO TO… “Once January 1st gets here, I’m gonna start rebuilding my life!”

My intentions were sincere, but at the end of the day, I knew there would be a “waiting game” element to my strategy, and that I’d be able to “do life as I always had” until whatever motivator finally came to fruition! That was a horrible strategy.

9 times out of 10 I would get tired of waiting for the stars to align, give up on my plans, and continue leading the unhealthy lifestyle I was accustomed to!

Sound familiar?

Unfortunately a large number of Americans (dare I say, a majority of Americans) utilize this exact strategy on the daily! We’re so sure that at some point all of the beneficial conditions we so desperately need will magically fall into place, and we’ll finally be able to start getting our life on track.

Reality Check: The parameters that have to fall into place so that we can begin to change our lives for the better RARELY FALL INTO PLACE ON THEIR OWN!

We’ve got to stop waiting for our ship(s) to come in. It hardly ever (IF EVER) makes it to Port. Those “perfect conditions” that we’ve convinced ourselves we need to improve may take weeks, months, years, even decades to come. That’s weeks, months, years, and decades of us doing nothing to improve our current situation(s).

Here’s an idea! INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR OUR SHIP TO COME IN…SWIM OUT TO IT!!!

In other words, with your own hands, mind, and soul, CREATE the conditions that are needed to improve ourselves!

I don’t need a weight set or a gym membership…I can do pushups on the floor, pullups on the porch with a tree limb, and I can do cardio (walking or running) ALL. DAY. LONG. Waiting for a weight set or a gym membership is simply an excuse we give ourselves when we don’t want to put in the work!

And researching the “perfect diet”…really! I can’t tell you how many fad diets I’ve done over the course of the past 25(ish) years in an effort to lose weight. All the while the “perfect” diet was in front of me the whole time. Heck…it was taught to us from the day we entered first grade until we graduated high school. Our football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, track, and P.E. coaches (as well as health teachers…AND PARENTS) tried to tell us…but we just wouldn’t listen.

What did they say time and time again? Eat Healthy AND Exercise!!! Boom! There’s your “magic pill”. You want to improve your health? 1) Eat Healthy; and 2) Exercise. That’s it! Nothing Else! That is how you start improving your lifestyle and pivoting from a life that is leading to an early grave.

The same holds true for our finances. Stop waiting for the big promotion or the advanced degree pursuit to come to an end that will magically add monthly revenue to your bank account. Go get a second job…or better yet, start a side business that might have the potential to become an amazing full-time business. We can also learn how to better manage the money we currently have. Swim out to that ship!

We can also apply this to relationships. It’s sad to say, but sometimes…on rare occasion…we find ourselves in a toxic relationship. Someone takes advantage of us…and they continue doing so. We tell ourselves, “Someday he/she will seek counseling or break their addiction and things will turn around for the better. Then he/she will be more enjoyable to be around.” But sometimes “someday” takes longer than expected to happen (if it ever does). We have to come to the realization that “that ship” may never come in. We may need to be motivator that encourage them to seek the help they need. Swim out to that ship!

Bottom Line Y’all…

It’s important to have patience, sure. Patience is a skill we all need…but patience doesn’t mean we sit around doing nothing. We’ve covered this in a previous post. Always work toward your milestones. Be still and listen to hear what God is telling you…and work!

This truth hold true to our walk with Christ too. Instead of waiting (hoping) for a chance to share the good news of Jesus Christ, we should make the most of every moment. Talk about Christ. Blog about Christ. Profess Christ to any and everyone who will listen. We live in evil times…and folks need Jesus. Tell them about Him NOW! Don’t wait for that opportunity to present itself…create the opportunity! Swim out to that ship!

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” ~Ephesians 5:15-16