"That’s not going to work!" "Oh yes it will!" said the young man who was determined to get his way. Of course, he failed the test because he wasn’t willing to take a look at where he was actually going but….
Did it really need to happen the way it played out?
Forward Friday is about the moments in our lives when we come up against the calibration of change when what we’ve been doing isn’t making sense anymore, not working and we need to pivot.
It’s a positive thing to admit to ourselves when we need to adjust for the better; it's then to put in to action we need to do to achieve beneficial change…. And as always, there’s good news medicine at the end!
Let’s Get into This!!
I think one of the hardest things for a man or woman to admit is that we need to change.
Change an attitude
Change a habit
Change our thinking
Change and admit that we were wrong in some area of our life
Change how we approach situations
Maybe it’s because we don’t want to admit failure or that we missed it on whatever those “Change” areas are but wouldn’t it make sense to consider “Pivots” so that we don’t have to get stuck???
CS. Lewis said, “We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man or woman who turns back soonest is the most progressive one.”
When I think of the calibrate or calibrations, I think of the words, corrections, adjustments, tunings, settings.
Being a sports guy, I’ve always found it interesting that a team may have had success against another team during the regular season etc, but come the playoffs, one had better know that this team will have made adjustments to play that team again so there could be a better outcome.
Some teams found out the hard way that not coming prepared with “Calibrations” cost them a championship.
Yet in life, we can be really hard nosed about making our own calibrations or pivots……
What are some things that could be Pivot Areas for us?
Relationships
Why is it so hard for us to admit we’ve gotten something wrong in a relational connection moment?
There are disintegrated family units all over the landscape of time because there were calibrations that needed to be made by both parties because it always takes 2 to tango but for whatever reason, there was no “Pivot”.
And the mess occurs because there was no "Calibration".
Friendships that once were special died either a slow death or the demise was quick because there was an unwillingness somewhere to take stock of what was in the hand and because there was no “Pivot”, what was is not anymore.
Pride & Arrogance
There’s a reason why the Bible talks about the downfall of pride/arrogance.
There is this grandiose idea of self that creates a pattern of a loss of self-awareness that the person wants to be right and not think past the problem that pride creates.
And by the way, Feeling proud is not the same as being proud.
Acknowledging our strengths and achievements reinforces positive behavior. It pushes to give more and grow in our abilities.
However, being proud is living under a distorted notion. We exaggerate our perception of self to feel superior.
We many times miss that Pride becomes a poison because it’s the basis for depreciating others at the expense of puffing ourselves up and it creates the conditions for creating suffering in our lives.
Some Things To Think About:
Pride causes over-confidence, which blinds us to our weaknesses and can lead to the destruction of so many areas of life.
When we’re prideful and over-confident, we can overlook potential weaknesses, dangers and pitfalls. We tend to believe that past success guarantees future success. Over-confidence has led people to take risks that have sometimes resulted in failures in many areas of life.
Lewis also said, “There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world it's pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistakes in many facets of life. We're on the wrong road. And if that is so we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.”
Pride Causes People To Reject Help They Need From Others.
Prideful people tend refuse to listen and learn. We may say, "Tell us what you are thinking", but really, our minds are made up to run our own route.
There are many things we cannot do for ourselves. But pride brings destruction by deluding us into thinking that we don’t need any help, we can do it ourselves.
Pride is a blinder that keeps people from realizing they are prideful. Pride fools us.
Some Good Medicine.. Making Pivots Our Friend…….
Some things to consider: I’ve been studying and thinking about the life of Samson and some things stand out to me…
Samson was such a man.
So much nuance to his story that goes beyond Delilah which was a monumental calibration in the road of his life that he missed but there were other things…
For Samson, Pride was intoxicating. But the hangover he got himself in to was hell. As people; we do have (many) limitations, and we need to grasp, understand that we are finite. We do need of help outside of ourselves so that we can be all that we were meant to be.
If the problem is that we lose sight that there are moments where the road we are on could be in need of a course calibration and a pivot, we could miss a potential change that could enhance our life.
Samson's story spans Judges 13,14,15,16 and it is a "It could have been a different life and ending."
But Samson could not negotiate "Pivots" and "Calibrations" in his life so while there was some good, it wasn't what he was set up for.
It is fascinating reading and I am always encouraged that God inspired men to write and not leave out the "rough" edges of a man or woman's life so we could learn from their life and walk.
For us all, “Pride is our greatest enemy; humility is our greatest friend.”
I believe we are all set up for greatness based on the fact that we were given life by a loving Creator who has great plans for us no matter the season we find ourselves in...
This Scripture Stands Out As A Reminder To Be Humble
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Romans 12:3
The other problem when it comes to "Pivots" or "Calibrations" is that we sometimes when we struggle for any variety of reasons, we can’t or won’t admit it.
Many of us slip into that same road when we may feel overwhelmed, exhausted, frustrated etc. We may not say it out loud, but what our actions are saying to others is: “I’m not letting you in. I won’t share what’s going on with me. Besides, even if I tried, you wouldn’t understand.”
Many refuse to ask for directions! We don’t want to have to tell anyone we need help! (Kind of like the ones who are driving lost but won't stop and ask for directions) (GPS and Waze have made it easier though but you get the idea)
The Things I Think:
So recently, I had a great idea. Nothing earth shattering but still an idea that needed legs to become a reality.
The problem was, it wasn’t the best idea for me. Still went ahead with it and it has had marginal success.
The downside? Many hours of work and effort with minimal results.
Again, not a bad thing but was it the best thing for me?
At one point a few weeks ago, I had a moment where I had to make some pivots in the plan to find a measure of success.
With some friendly guidance and divine prayers and insight, the pivot has made an okay situation better but it wouldn’t have been better had there not been a willingness to calibrate.
Never easy at times but it’s worth the effort.
Some Great Quotes To Get Us Into The Weekend!
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.”
Asking for help is never a sign of weakness. It's one of the bravest things you can do. And it can save your life.”
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
God is looking for progression, not perfection. And you can't find progression unless you have direction. Let God be your compass. Let the way you study, spend time with friends, act in your relationships, and learn be done through the direction of God himself.
Failures are those who want to get to a destination without a direction.
Keep your head and your heart going in the right direction, and you will not have to worry about your feet.
The Bible tells us, Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:3-4 Pivot/Calibration moments will happen in our lives; it's what we do in those moments that define the next steps on the journey.
I'm willing to listen and be ready for change when it needs to happen..
Walking the road with you! Progress 2023
Dave
#ForwardFriday #Pivots #CourseCalibrations #Progess2023 #Humble #Blog #Speaker #GoodMedicine #Life #Change #FutureGrowth
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