Success doesn’t happen by accident. “Overnight success” is more myth than a model to follow. 

Whether it requires 10,000 hours to hone one’s craft like some suggest (maybe more, maybe less), the point remains the same: Success is a byproduct of a culmination of disciplined habits continually exhibited over time; it’s the aggregate result of many deliberate, detailed, daily decisions.

And for most, this makes sense, right? You default to your highest level of preparation. What you feed and fuel your body with, the duration of your sleeping patterns, your mental fortitude, how you train and practice … it all matters -– immensely! 

Your end output on the field, your peak performance on the court is directly tied to many seemingly small decisions made long before the actual competition itself. 

You reap what you sow. Like gravity, it’s a principle in life. This makes sense. No surprises there …

So if that principle remains true for competition, it goes with reason that it’s equally important -– if not more -– in all areas of your life. If the eyes are a window to the soul, what you watch shouldn’t be mindlessly consumed. If the mouth speaks out of the abundance of  what you listen to, it’s at least worth giving it a second thought to the meaning of the lyrics you input. 

And the same purposed intentionality is true with whom you choose to associate or how you spend your money or time.

If time is a finite resource to be either invested or wasted, how are you doing? Is it yielding the results you’d like? Most settle for mediocrity, either wasting time or complaining that they never have enough as they mindlessly bump through life, not fully present (and mindful) of their surroundings, influences, actions or consequences.

So how do you approach life? And more pointedly, how do you approach your spiritual life? Do you conduct a periodic audit to check-in with reality? 

Do you have a plan for personal growth? Or do you have any accountability plans in place to limit drifting through life? Do you pursue it with the same tenacity, drive, deadlines, and determination as you do with your physical goals?

If you’re like most, the answer is: Probably not. And that’s ok. That’s your starting point. That honest appraisal is your current reality. 

But it’s NOT Ok to stay that way.

If your daily habits provide a foreshadowing to your destination roadmap, how’s the journey going? What changes need to be made? What habits need to change to ultimately pursue the purposes God made you for?

Start today … in small intentional decisions … and be faithful with every next step in front of you.