Being Intentional

How much of what you do is being “intentional?”  I’ve always loved John Maxwell’s comment “you cannot win if you do not begin!  The people who get ahead in the world are the ones who look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, they make them.”

I think that applies to so much of life that it can’t be over emphasized.  When I think of all the times I’ve heard someone say “I want to do this” and then they never actually wind up doing it, I am amazed.  I’m not amazed at their desire, but rather their complete lack of knowing how to move in the direction of success.  Excuses predominate their mindset.  Their dream is clouded by being “too poor” or “too busy” or “not educated enough” or any other number of reasons, but the real underlying problem is they are simply not “intentional” in their approach. 

When I get up in the morning and tell myself I need to clean out the garage, I can think that all morning long.  Until I take the first step of opening the garage door, moving that box aside and finding that broom, I am not moving forward.  Even if I stop and go have a cup of coffee, I have at least begun moving forward and engaged in a process that can produce a solution.  Still, I have to be intentional in my forward momentum and take the steps that lead me back to my solution instead of away from it.  My thoughts need to remain focused on the garage.  If I run into a problem that I can’t handle, I can search out some help to get me to my goal, always remaining focused on my goal.

Why do I bring this up?  Why is it important?  Well, it’s more than just getting the garage organized and clean.  What does your life look like?  Is it organized and clean?  Are you “intentional” in the way you live it?  Every step you take, what employment you choose, each love you invest yourself in, every moral decision you make, every friend you spend time with, where you place your faith, etc., all go toward controlling what the end result of your life will be.  If you are not clearly “intentional” in how you handle those things, you will wander aimlessly through a world of pleasure distractions and perceived roadblocks to your goals and desires.  We live in a culture that emphasizes all those pleasure distractions.  Trust me, they will divert you from your end game

Yeah, I know, not everyone will get what I’m talking about here.  It took me years of hard knocks to understand it myself.  I like the way Paul puts it about his faith in the New Testament: “run the good race.”  The runner has his eye on the finish line all the way.  He is “intentional.”