\u201cIf the ax be blunt and one does not whet the edge, then must he put to it more strength; but wisdom is profitable to direct him.\u201d Ecclesiastes 10:10<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.\u201d –\u00a0Abraham Lincoln<\/p>\n
We all have goals that we want to achieve in life. And if you are impatient, like me, then you wish that you had accomplished your goals yesterday<\/em>.\u00a0 The problem is that really big life goals require a preparation period.\u00a0 That is what the authors are getting at in the quotes above.\u00a0 A preparation period is critical if you want to accomplish any goal successfully.<\/p>\n Think about how we bring a child into the world. We wait nine long months before the baby is born.\u00a0 And during that time, we prepare.\u00a0 We buy clothes for the baby.\u00a0 We purchase a crib or a cradle.\u00a0 We read baby care books and perhaps take child birth classes.\u00a0 And then when the baby is born, (hopefully!) we are ready to take care of the baby.\u00a0 Now think about what would happen if today you were told that you were going to have a baby, and that the baby would be arriving tomorrow<\/em>.\u00a0 You would be a nervous wreck.\u00a0 You would be scrambling for the basics, like a crib, clothes and baby food.\u00a0 You would be unprepared for the awesome responsibility of becoming a parent because you didn\u2019t have a preparation period.<\/p>\n The same holds true when we want to accomplish big things. We need time to prepare.\u00a0 Specifically, we need time to prepare for the new responsibilities that come along with accomplishing our goals.\u00a0 So we may need time to mature emotionally.\u00a0 Or perhaps we need time to get rid of some bad habits or attitudes.<\/p>\n Of course, no one likes the preparation period. It is a time when you don\u2019t know what is going to happen.\u00a0 So it is filled with \u201cwhat ifs.\u201d\u00a0 What if I can\u2019t accomplish my goal?\u00a0 What if I fail?\u00a0 What if I\u2019ve wasted my time pursing my dream?\u00a0 Those are valid questions.\u00a0 But people who are ultimately successful ignore those questions.\u00a0 Instead, they forge ahead, with blinders on.\u00a0 They use their preparation period to hone their skills.\u00a0 They use this time for introspection, and they work on personal growth.\u00a0 They sharpen their axe.<\/p>\n During August, many of us watched the Olympics. The athletes who competed spent the prior four years \u201csharpening their axes.\u201d\u00a0 They spent that time working passionately toward their goal, not knowing what the final outcome would be.\u00a0 But that did not stop them from giving every ounce of energy to preparing for the games.<\/p>\n If you have set goals for yourself that have not yet been achieved, remember that this is your preparation period. Don\u2019t get discouraged because you aren\u2019t achieving your dreams on your time table.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let impatience lead you to give up.\u00a0 Instead, take advantage of this time.\u00a0 Use it to prepare yourself for both the joys and the responsibilities of success.\u00a0 Sharpen your axe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIf the ax be blunt and one does not whet the edge, then must he put to it more strength; but wisdom is profitable to direct him.\u201d Ecclesiastes 10:10 \u201cGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.\u201d –\u00a0Abraham Lincoln We all have goals that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n