I love motion. Forward motion, perpetual motion... I love all of it. I love using phrases like these to describe my life and I love proving that I am actually doing something with my time here on earth. In fact, I think a lot of us love the idea of movement.
The key here is that we are in love with the idea, but most of us leave it right there. As a romantic notion, a dream, an ideal, but not reality.
The most interesting thing about this love affair with forward motion in our lives is that our lifestyle is constantly and consistently is at odds to our ambitions. At the core of this conundrum is our disdain for change. It is very likely that if you are reading this blog and if you have read any of my other work that you would like to think of yourself as an agent of change, bucking the status quo, and doing something unique. And I would say that you absolutely are that person, the issue is that when you are a change agent it doesn't mean that you are open to change, it just means that you are open and deeply committed to your own ideas.
Most of us, whether we would like to believe this or not, are addicted to the status quo. Let's say that you are a middle manager at work. You have worked hard to get here, and you have a plan laid out to crawl out of the obscurity that is middle management, and to emerge as a true leader in your company. You volunteer for special projects, you work late, people love you, and if you don't, you very aggressively do everything you can to move them LOVE you, you are well on your way, and then something happens... a new narrative breaks through. COMPETITION.
You learn that one of your employee's is running your playbook, and they are gunning for your spot. They want your job in the same way you want somebody elses job, except when it's your job that someone is actively campaigning for you think it's a betrayl, because as long as you are the one going for it, it's totally ok, but when you are the one being hunted, it doesn't feel so good.
So you pivot, you shift, you adapt your game plan. You reset your sights on the competition and realign your strategy, you double down on your efforts, and you fight. You are not going to give up any ground. Do you know what you just did there? You began to fight for the status quo. You actively and aggressively redistributed your creativity and your energy to fight for a position you already hold, and for a place that you are ultimately trying to leave. You just became deeply committed to staying exactly where you are.
We love to protect. We can be ferocious at fighting for what we have, but if we are not careful, we can become absolutely obsesses with fighting for what we have now and where we are now, and lose focus and lack both vision and direction for where we want to go.
In the same way, when we fixate solely on a position or climbing to a specific station in life we are limiting our ability to grow. We become so fixated on a single destination that we put the blinders on and only do what we have to do to get there. Have we forgotten about lateral movement? It is more than likely that you will never rise to the exact position that you are aiming for. So, what if you didn't focus on only fighting for that position, what if you focused on fighting for personal growth? What if you prepared and learned and soaked up everything that you can about life, leadership, relationships, and people, what if you learned as much as you could about systems and structures and best practices in your field, not limiting your learning or experience to only the environment that you are in.
If you take these steps to prepare for your future then you will position yourself and open yourself up to a world of possibility. Could it be that the pathway that you are fixating on is actually limiting your vision and cutting off opportunities in your life? Is it possible that you've been brought to this place to only connect you with the right people to propel you forward in a completely different field.
We are linear thinkers. We like to think that life moves from point A to B to C. But that's not true at all. Life is a journey. I believe that if we live each moment and each step to its fullest, and that if we continue to follow Jesus through every season and every storm that we will find ourselves in the most incredible places, both internally and externally.
Stop fighting for where you are, and start fighting for your future. You fight for your future by fighting your own desire to settle. You fight for your future for looking forward, following the promptings and leading of Jesus, one step at a time, and you fight for your future by not focusing on where you are, but by becoming a student of where you want to be.
Hey! Thanks for reading! I'm gonna plug away at this series of blog posts, probably in a sporatic fashion, but hey, now you know! I recently wrote a book that I believe will help you immensely! So if you liked this post, then you are gonna love my book, Hope Not Hype! It's available on Amazon, Kindle, and many other online retailers, even Barnes & Noble, but the best deal always come through me, so click the link below!
And if you hate reading, but love audio books... I got you covered there to, enjoy!
Brett Esslinger is a Husband, Dad, Son, Brother, Pastor, Speaker, Leader, Writer whose life goal is to help people unlock their potential and fulfill their life's purpose.
Brett is the founder of Engage City Church & the Author of #HopeNotHype
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