Let’s Hit the RESET BUTTON!

Over the past two months, I have constantly contemplated how I would blog out of 2015 and blog into 2016. Well, there was much to think about in regards of a meaningful message; therefore, I waited… Now that 2016 has rushed right on in with the political debates, President Obama’s State of the Union Address, the citizens of Flint hazardous water, Governor Rauner’s failure to approve a state budget for citizens of Illinois, education still failing our urban youth, and the uprising of prison buildings, I find myself exhausted, angry, sometimes feeling helpless, and pacing back to point A.

Yes, there is much activity going on around us and within our own backyards, which is why I beckon to gauge your attention to RESET! Allow me to focus you toward the one thing that is most important. This one thing truly supersedes Donald Trumps’ ploy for the presidency, what President Obama said or failed to say during his State of the Union Address, and how the governors of Michigan and Illinois are disappointing their citizens. Yes, this one focus of interest is even more important than the state of our laboring unions and educators who tirelessly fight for fair wages to educate our next generation. This one focal point I want you to seriously think about for the next 90 seconds, as you consider how you will blaze through this year we are calling “Sweet 16” is…

WHAT WOULD YOU DO, IF YOU ONLY HAD SIX MONTHS TO LIVE?  

In addition to your regular life duties such as

voting (make sure you are registered to vote so your opinion can count towards the decision-making where you live),

paying bills (we all must be accountable for what we use, therefore, WORK…),

working (if you are so honored with the privilege to serve others through employment – count it as pure joy),

parenting (cover your children in prayer, educate them on the law, and explain that respect is not earned, it is deserved),

or going to school (take heed to what you learn, apply your knowledge everyday to experience the value of your investment)

MAKE IT ALL COUNT, for your time is limited.

Tomorrow holds a restart: time that will begin again at twelve o’clock midnight, a sun that will rise depending on your geographic location, a sky that will hover over you and soon go dark where the moon will peep out and shine on your streets, and an earth that will continue to spin. But, what will you continue to do? Will you recycle the same broken record of meaningless talk that only causes pain and not healing? Will you talk about the same people in your exhausting conversations? Or will you continue to imagine the dream that you are too afraid to bring to life?

I asked my Dad what he would do if he had six months to live. His one and final answer was to use the six months to get closer to God. My students’ responses varied between traveling the world and making amends in broken relationships. My clients say they would begin getting their state of affairs in order; you know, identifying beneficiaries or power of attorneys, outlining home-going arrangements to leave less worry on the loved ones left behind, etc. What would I do? I would take great risks and face my greatest fears. I can say that because I already travel, my relationships are mended or discontinued for healthy reasons, my life arrangements are close to being in order but my greatest fears still loiter around. What would you do?

It is time to hit your reset button on life because your soul has waited long enough to be free; free from the clutter in your heart; free from the racing in your thoughts; free from the nagging self-talk that does not believe in what could actually be (that is within your own control); free from the “what if’s” and the “back and forth” of the victimization games you play with yourself. Hey, be intentional with your time. Stop functioning out of a mundane routine. You are not a robot, you are more than a robot. Your life breeds life and a robot can not give life.

When you are healthy, energetic, and optimistic notice that you are a magnet for blessings. Why wait until you have six months to live… Get started NOW with making your life as meaningful as you would love for it to be! Go on… there is someone in the world who is waiting on your energy and choices you will make that will not benefit you, but them. I have started with facing my fears of being alone. I am embracing solitude and I am finding an unnerving peace with being alone.  I am taking great risks in the areas I fear, such as finances and I am investing in ME!