THINGS ARE REVEALED TO THOSE WHO SEEK (AND PROVIDED TO THOSE WHO ACT)

Those who continually seek that which they do not have – who reach for the stars without differentiating whether it is night or day – who always seem to want what others have because they feel their own gifts or abilities are somehow inferior – will probably always be lacking. They will never feel that they have “arrived” as they are always “seeking to go” in a different direction. They are like seeds drifting upon the winds – moving from one place to another without ever taking root so that they might grow. They may enjoy many starts and stops in life – travelling upon a multitude of roads yet experiencing much frustration for they seldom remain on one path long enough to discover a destination. Rather than living their own life and experiencing the richness it might bring they ride upon the coat tails of others, skimming their enjoyment from the surface of life’s ocean – plucking only the floating debris left behind rather than diving deeply to find treasures of their own.

Those who feel they have all they could ever need – who do not desire any reward beyond what they have achieved – who always find comfort in “what is” rather than being curious about “what could be” – will probably find contentment in their life but may never realize their full potential. People finding happiness in the “here and now” without ever seeking to expand their horizons often live lives that are “safe” yet uneventful. They find that travelling a familiar path to a known destination provides contentment and predictability – an outcome that may not excite but that will never disappoint. They seek to avoid disillusionment by holding tightly to what is known – to eliminate defeat by seeking only that which will foster and perpetuate ongoing rewards (regardless of how large or small the reward might be). Though many find comfort within the familiar walls of a predictable reality, few that do find the joy of discovery. Though many find contentment within a predictable world, few of them find their dreams fulfilled (if they allow themselves to dream) or their future altered drastically (while they seek shelter from life’s storms within their established safe harbor). When one believes that nothing else exists or is needed beyond what is present within their “here and now” they tend to forfeit any thought of the possible due to their deeply rooted belief in the probable.

The secret to being all that you can be – to balancing your abilities against your capabilities while blending the comfort of where you are with the promise of what you might wish to achieve – is in setting realistic goals that stretch your reality from what is to what has not yet been accomplished. Intentional action must be initiated if change is desired – for to see or experience new things one must physically, emotionally and perceptually alter the current situation in such a way as to tear down the confining walls of “what is” and exchange them for limitless sea of “what could be.” While one may never fail without established goals, how can one measure progress unless an objective – or destination – has been determined?  How can one move forward if they do not know when to stop – or even when to start – doing something different? While one rarely tastes defeat when choosing to live within their familiar world, they cannot savor those things not previously considered possible until they decide to act differently rather than simply expecting altered results without changing their predictable behavior.

Life is not a spectator sport – it is an interactive opportunity to transform the present into the future (but does not do so on its own). Life provides us with the canvas upon which dreams may become reality (but we must act if we are to create such a masterpiece for it will not be painted on its own). Knowing the right answers to questions asked by another might help us overcome obstacles that could hinder our progress as we seek to accomplish defined things but leveraging our knowledge and experience to ask the right questions is much more fulfilling. Like planting seeds – if nurtured and cared for, our ideas will be brought to fruition but if planted and ignored they will die out and become overrun with weeds. When we act upon the information received from the questions we ask, our dreams will grow and become seeds ready for harvest. Recognize, though, that as much as it might wish to become an apple tree, a cherry pit will not grow into anything other than a cherry tree. In the same manner, our ideas and dreams must be plausible – we must have the knowledge, skill and ability to act once a path to success has been identified – if we are to enjoy the things found through our seeking, receive the benefits of our asking and achieve the rewards of accomplishing the goals we establish. We must seek before we can find. We must ask before we can receive. In order to achieve, we must act intentionally upon the information we discover while seeking and incorporate what we learn when asking. Seek to find and ask to receive BUT do not fail to act intentionally upon the information found and the wisdom received in order to achieve!

Look Beyond Today’s Reality When Seeking Tomorrow’s Success

People tend to see things (and other individuals) as they are. We live “in the moment” during our daily lives, often seeing and recognizing only what is in front of us at the time. We deal with issues and situations as they come up. We resolve (or avoid) conflicts as they occur. We form our opinions and establish our perspectives based on what we see, hear or experience at the time an opportunity to act presents itself. A phrase originating during my youth (“What you see is what you get!”) appropriately identifies the level of introspection many use to chart their path through life.

What if we were to focus more upon “what could be?” rather than seeing only “what is” in life? What if we stopped seeing individuals “as they are,” instead seeing how they have changed and who they might yet become? If we assume that today’s reality is but a temporary resting place within an as yet undetermined future RATHER THAN a final destination – that what we are today is but a sign or indicator of what we might yet become RATHER THAN a definitive predictor of the future – how much more could be accomplished in our lives? When we focus upon what could be rather than what is…upon why not rather than why…upon where we are headed rather than upon where we have been…we can discover new horizons not previously considered.

When we focus only upon fixing “what is” we tend to react to our circumstances rather than plan for our future. We often try to bury or make situations “go away” rather than trying to identify their “root cause” so that we might be able to keep them from recurring. We tend to worry about today more than we do tomorrow…considering only the things we learned yesterday rather than seeking what has not yet been realized or foreseen within an unknown tomorrow. We focus on the obvious reality of the moment rather than projecting our experiences into what could be “if only” we were to initiate change or do things differently. When dealing with individuals we do the same thing – we see who a person is (often because of what they did or were in the past) but rarely focus on what they COULD BECOME if given the right example, encouragement, and support. When we shut someone out because of what they once were or did – or due to the way they are currently acting without trying to understand why – we minimize their desire to change. When we give up on others do they lose more (due to a loss of opportunity) or do we (because we lost the opportunity to make a difference)?

If we seek to change – to view situations and others differently than we have in the past – we must establish a new base from which to operate so we can alter our perspectives in the future. We must change our paradigm from one that stops at a “surface scan” to one that dives deeply into the “why” of every situation or the “why not” of each possible course of action. We should identify and examine the good that others bring along with the bad – always seeking to maximize the positive while minimizing the negative – if we are to see beneath the surface when interacting with people. We should ALWAYS reject the belief that “what you see is what you get” as we seek the sunshine that is above every storm cloud or the alternative door that tends to open whenever our original door or path is blocked.

Today identifies those things that have not yet been brought to fruition – the things that tend to fade quickly into yesterday when we find comfort in where we are, what we do and how we do things – only if we look beyond our reality and seek to bring to fruition our dreams. Live in “today” only long enough to move through it while seeking a new “tomorrow” and you may be surprised at how quickly “the moment of today” will pass when you live life seeking NOT “what is” but rather “what could be.” Only when you actively and intentionally seek to expand your “present” by learning (through formal programs or informal interactions), by seeking (new methods and alternative approaches), by applying (the lessons learned in life) and by initiating (any action causes an equal and opposite reaction) will you be able to see beneath (or beyond) the surface as you move through the limitations of this world towards the potential an unlimited tomorrow might bring. 

WE HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME TO “MAKE A DIFFERENCE” – INVEST YOUR’S WISELY

Some people work through one project at a time – from start to finish – then move on to another to (presumably) maximize their productivity. Others work on multiple tasks by attacking different priorities – setting aside one project in favor of another prior to its completion – until all work is eventually completed in what they feel is the most timely and efficient manner. Still others tend to operate by “putting out fires” as they jump from one critical need to another without taking the time to think about how best to coordinate their efforts, working on one thing UNTIL something seemingly more important needs their attention to fix. We find ourselves worrying needlessly about things outside of our control – wasting precious hours thinking about why something cannot be accomplished (or was not done) rather than taking intentional action to move towards a desired outcome. We feel there is never enough time to finish what must be done (but always have time to redo something that may have been done incorrectly). We spend hours worrying about things outside of our control and getting stressed about finding time to do everything that needs to be done (rather than focusing on doing “something” then moving on one step at a time). Without proper planning and focus we find ourselves slaves to the very clock we so desperately seek to master – struggling to complete anything (rather than everything) on a timely basis.

Far too many people complain more about the disturbances, distractions, and annoyances in their lives than they celebrate the opportunities to learn, grow, and develop by handling the fallout from the disturbances they may face. We dwell upon the fact that others possess the attributes we want rather than embracing and exhibiting our individual gifts and abilities. Instead of finding satisfaction in all we have accomplished, some see only what has not been finished due to a lack of time or how much better a job could have done “if only” more time had been given. Rather than acknowledging how we impacted another while focusing upon changing our own expectations (and ways of doing things) we often prefer to think about what was not done and how much more should have been accomplished (rather than being happy for what was done and building upon it to accomplish more).

Everyone can lose themselves in thoughts about what COULD HAVE BEEN. It is easy to dwell on lost opportunity – to excuse a lack of execution by saying that the time for action has passed (or it is not worth the effort needed to initiate action) since “things are OK now” (though they COULD be better). It is harder (but much more rewarding) to consider WHAT MAY YET BE – to seek and anticipate issues not yet identified and commit to their being accomplished – accepting each minor success as but a step on the road towards the fulfillment of a dream. Life is not measured by the time it takes to accomplish our objectives but rather by the objectives we are able to accomplish – not by how long (or short) a time it takes to do SOMETHING but rather by the impact we are able to make upon the lives of those around us as we act within the time we are given. We must define objectives and measure accomplishments (rather than overly documenting steps and focusing upon the time it takes to accomplish things) if we wish to invest the limited time we are given wisely.

Perhaps the return on our investment would be much greater if we thought more about alternatives – opportunities to explore areas not previously identified – rather than dwelling upon how (we sometimes wish) we could live within our normal routine seeking satisfaction from completing our assigned objectives.

Many often find themselves buried by the details of what must be finished prior to something new beginning rather than truly celebrating all we have done while seeking closure to the opportunities that require our attention. We should seek fulfilment in life by identifying unresolved issues and exploring possible solutions rather than making excuses for unintentional omissions that result in unintended consequences. We should find peace within the hectic world around us, taking our lives back from the clock as it ticks relentlessly on. Time should never become a measurement of how long it takes to fulfill our destiny – it should never become the measure upon which our identity, success and accomplishments can be monitored – but rather a parameter in which to identify our accomplishments, measure our abilities and strive for the realization of objectives (rather than focusing upon and accepting the path it took so get there as the only way something might be done).

Time invested wisely can never be wasted but wasting time worrying about how it may have been inappropriately spent (by yourself OR others) is never a good investment. Choose wisely as one can either master time (reaping the rewards of their investments) or be mastered by time (never accomplishing what we wish to do or seeing what we want to experience). The choice is up to each of us – to either be a victim of our self-imposed boundaries or a champion of those things not yet identified and seen.

DO INTENDED (OR UNINTENDED) CONSEQUENCES DETERMINE THE COURSE OF YOUR LIFE?

INTENDED actions may result in UNINTENTIONAL consequences (as we know what we want to accomplish but often only think about what SHOULD happen rather than what COULD happen). INTENTIONAL (as opposed to intended) actions which are fully tested and “vetted” through others, however, typically cause and create INTENDED results. To change the direction and/or course of our lives we must do more than think about what we would like to do – we must put our thoughts and intentions into action.

When we intend to do something but do not get around to acting upon our intentions, we have nobody but ourselves to blame when an outcome is different than what we may have anticipated. Intending to leave early for a meeting does not guarantee we will arrive on time (especially if, in reality, we actually leave ten minutes late because we failed to plan properly). Intending to work hard around the house does not mow the lawn (until we intentionally start the lawn mower and follow-through on our intentions). Intending to visit a shut-in friend or relative does not provide tangible support (until we invest our time to plan and put forth effort to act). Our best intentions are thoughts not yet put into actions. Whenever we think we SHOULD do something but choose not to (for whatever reason), we are creating a good (or bad) intention that usually has no direct bearing or impact on what actually happens. When we intentionally act on our intentions, however – when we first examine the alternatives and then initiate an intentional action – we often change the course of our (or someone else’s) life.

When we choose to help another out of a jam (rather than wishing them well) we make a difference in their life.  Caution should be taken that such help does not become enabling. We should teach others how to manage their problems so they might be addressed or avoided rather than hiding from them while waiting for outside intervention. We will not change, however, until we choose to act (no matter how noble and honorable our thoughts or intentions might be). Action might translate into securing employment (or seeking new employment), seeking guidance from a knowledgeable resource, sharing our fears and concerns as to WHY something is an issue (rather than simply cowering from the issue itself), or moving from our “comfort zone” into new and unfamiliar territory as we move forward. Regardless of the action, a conscious decision to do SOMETHING must occur – even if we knowingly choose to delay acting – in order for “change” to happen. We cannot travel upon a new road until we first INTEND to move from where we are then put that intention into action by venturing forward.

We cannot change our (or another’s) future – contribute to anyone’s good – until we CHOOSE to act – to either consciously change or intentionally maintain the status quo. Simply failing to act can be an expression of good intentions but that choice is often a hollow consideration that will not necessarily produce anticipated consequences. Choosing to act (or to delay acting), however, can create in an intended (or at least anticipated) consequence which could be or lead to an intentional (rather than an accidental) result impacting the course and direction of our own (or another’s) life.

Say what you wish (or intend) to do then ACT by doing what you said (or thought). Do not let your lack of follow-through minimize your good intentions. Bring your intentions to fruition by initiating actions that are birthed within well-considered thoughts that are put into action allowing deliberate forward intentional progress as you seek to accomplish your dreams (or the improvement of another’s position by teaching them HOW to anticipate and respond rather than telling them what to do).