ZEN: Purpose Fixation: How Not to Fail

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

--Hebrews 12:2--

Starting and finishing things can be fairly complicated at times. As a self proclaimed perfectionist in SOME things, I get upset at myself if I don’t finish what I start. I make myself feel guilty when I don’t work as hard as I can, or deep clean as much as I want to. I stress myself out about things that really don’t matter or change my life in a current, impactful way. I put BIG things off and procrastinate so I can do them properly….or not at all. Sometimes I have really great ideas, but I don’t get them going. This does not make me feel good. How can this be changed?!

This last October, I decided I was going to read through the entire Bible. I had set this goal in the past, and gotten about as far as the middle of Exodus. The Old Testament specifically can be torturing to get through if you are just reading for the sake of reading; Leviticus and Numbers are not the most thrilling. Anyways, before starting this little journey, I decided I wasn’t going to fail.

How do you not fail?

One. Not failing starts with making a commitment to not fail. That means, when you don’t feel like doing what you supposed to do, or want to sway back and forth about the option of starting and finishing something, you say “no.” You stick to your “visionary” plan and allow yourself to reach your goal, step by step and day by day. It is amazing how much of this we can control.

Two. Not failing means staying away from “self fulfilling prophecies” about failing. When you listen to yourself and your doubts about failure, they shape the future. We wonder why we make the same mistakes over and over again; probably because we are coaching ourselves to make the same mistakes. We aren’t changing anything about our approach. As Albert Einstein says, “Insanity: (is) doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Three. Not failing is accepting change. There are some days when I don’t have time to read my Bible, or feel like I should be reading something else. This is okay. Being religious makes you feel bad about this; being in relationship with God makes you feel loved despite how much you read your Bible. There is not just one method of completion.

Four. Not failing means having mercy on yourself and others. Being open to the spirits leading requires you to be open, love people, and change what you feel like doing. It doesn’t mean you are any farther away from the intended purpose; you are just walking along a different path which goes to the same destination. Don’t get mad at yourself or others for wanting to take a different path or go through a season a little differently. All things are working for the good of his purpose.

Five. Not failing emphasizes extreme FOCUS. When you keep your eye on the prize, you naturally begin to move towards the goal. The winner of the race is the one who stays fixed on the finish line, despite the physical pain and mental gymnastics. Have you ever noticed that the first mile of a run is the hardest? When you set a goal to run 5 miles and refuse to stop when you feel like stopping, after about a mile endorphins kick in and you can cruise. It feels great. But think about what happens when you focus on how little you have run during the first mile, and how much pain you’re in? If you stop you get discouraged; if you push through you are victorious.

Blah, blah, blah…This has to do with my Bible reading escapades because I’m not done reading yet. Right now I’m in 2nd Samuel, learning about David and how he was such a man after God’s own heart. It’s encouraging, and I love where I’m at right now. I may not be even close to finishing the entire Bible, but I have quite a BIG chunk out of the way, and after getting through the “drier” parts (which a majority talked about desert wanderings), I am really excited about what I am reading. And It’s only picking up pace. The New Testament will be a breeze.

The big message in this is if I would have stopped reading in the middle of Leviticus and given up during the endless explanations of how to build the tabernacle, I wouldn’t be as far in the Bible as I am. Someday I will go back and read those parts in more depth, but right now that wasn’t my goal. I wanted to read the stories and get an idea about the BIG PICTURE; not dive into the nook and crannies of how to properly sacrifice an unspotted lamb. To do this, I have had to trek on and continue reading where I left off, even it had been weeks since I read those parts. Amazingly enough, I’m about 270 pages in. I still have A LOT to go, but I’m in stride and through what most would say is the “first mile” of the Bible.

I’m going to finish, and finish strong. I don’t know when, but I know I will. And, I’m already seeing the fruits of my labor through the satisfaction of looking at the chunk I’m through; the dent I’ve made in such a large task. It feels good and I have more drive than I did in the beginning. Now that is how to NOT FAIL.

Let’s do some work son!!!