“There will be time later.”
“I’ll do it tomorrow.”
“I’ll start next month.”
Since the beginning of the Race, and perhaps my entire life, these thoughts have led me to put off DOING… put off speaking that word of encouragement, put off writing that note to my friend, put off learning that new skill, put off having that conversation, put off praying for that stranger, etc.
As I was reading back through my goals for the Race from month one, I realized that I still haven’t made much progress on any of them. Why? Because of the mentality that there’s always “later.”
But is there always later? It’s already month 5 and if I’m not careful, it will be month 11 and there will be no more later… (at least on the Race).
A couple years ago I read a book by John Maxwell called The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, and in it he encourages you to repeat the phrase “Do it now” 50 times every morning when you get up and 50 times at night before you go to bed. He says it creates a sense of urgency and squashes the “I can do it later” mentality.
This month, I started doing this. And wow, the difference it has already made! There’s a new urgency in my spirit to actually walk out the things that God has put in my heart to do. Some examples of what it’s encouraged me to do:
- Wake up early and dance with the Lord daily
- Purchase a blank journal & freely write/draw in it (without the comfort & structure of lined pages) *see below
- Buy a set of watercolor paints and start painting again! *see below
- Ask my teammates for one-on-ones and spend intentional quality time with them
- Post words/questions of encouragement on Facebook (sharing more freely about what God’s doing in my heart)
- Write notes of encouragement to my teammates
- Start editing a creative film that I’ve been wanting to make for months
My challenge to you: Say “Do it now” 50 times when you get up in the morning and 50 times before you go to bed at night, and just see what happens!
May God bless your life with a greater urgency to love and lead and serve with abandon! **Comment below – I would love to hear how this impacts your life!
