Jump!!

Every year, around the turn of the year, as most do, I set aside time to reflect on the year that’s ending and to think about the year ahead. In preparing to cross over in to the New Year, I often take time to seek out wisdom from trusted sources, to glean some wisdom as I prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead.  This year, I happened upon a cross-over sermon titled "Forward Ever". 

Among the many thoughts shared in that sermon was an exhortation to identify and rid ourselves of "dumb things" that may exist in our lives. 

In essence, these are things/persons/habit/pursuits that are not/no longer beneficial to us. These are not necessarily evil things in the traditional sense. They may even be morally good or neutral things. What qualifies a thing as being “dumb” in this sense lies in its impact upon our lives/goals/aspirations at this point in time. In other words, these are things that draw or hold us back and prevent us from pursuing our goals with full devotion or that drain us of energy or resolve. They are leeches and parasites upon our will and strength and resources.  

Everyone comes to the end of a year with some regrets. We can all look back and identify missed opportunities or missteps. We can relate to making poor decisions or getting involved with projects, ventures and even relationships that did us more harm than good. When we come to that realization, the logical thing to do is to re-evaluate and move-on.  Unfortunately, we may lack the will power to do so, or procrastinate doing so till it is too late. 

An old story that is illustrative of this truth runs thus:
 If one attempts to place a healthy frog in hot water, the frog will jump out/away. It senses the danger and reacts instantly to preserve its own safety.

However, if one places that same frog in a pot of cold water and gradually heats the water up, the frog may adjust its body temperature and continue to do so until it is too late.  At that point, it has lost muscle strength and will die in a situation that it could have escaped from, had action been taken earlier.

What killed the frog?

Was it the temperature of the water, or the frog’s own complacency, procrastination and inaction?

This is very similar to the adjustments that people make to situations, relationships and challenges that have become chronic. Outsiders looking in wonder how a person could remain in an abusive relationship, or continue the same habits, or remain in the dead-end job for years. The answer is that adjustments have been made over time and now the individual feels stuck and unable to escape/change, or worse, has become comfortable with the situation.

So, in addition to setting goals and adjusting our priorities as we seek to move ahead this New Year, it is smart to take a thorough inventory of our lives: our priorities, commitments and relationships. Of course, we will need to adjust to people & situations, but we also need to be clear about what we need to jettison and when we need to move on. We will need to accept that some situations/relationships are irretrievably lost and the only healthy thing to do is to cut our losses and move on. And that takes courage.  If we allow people to exploit us physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually or mentally they will continue to do so.

Let's jump while we still have the strength!