Get in the Game

We are given countless opportunities to watch others put it all on the line. That's why singing and dancing competitions and sporting events are so popular. We love to witness the emotion that results from the culmination of years of determination play out in front of us. It's compelling, entertaining, thrilling, and gratifying to experience victory. Celebrating the success of others is fantastic, but when was the last time you believed in yourself with the same fervor, intensity, and confidence? When was the last time you actually put it all on the line?

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love, love, love the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I cheer, talk trash, make predictions, and anxiously await the outcomes. As much as I love March Madness I would do myself a major injustice being more enthusiastic about a basketball tournament than I am about improving my life. After all the games end and the tournament is over, I am still left with me. I cannot exert more excitement and exuberance over something I enjoy than I exert trying to ensure my own victories.

I'm not at all suggesting that it's wrong to be excited at the success of others, but everything needs proper perspective. Consider your own talents, skills, purpose, and life track. What have you done and are actively doing to put it all on the line to ensure your success? Instead of observing others pour out their heart and soul and cheering them on begin to use some of that same energy to pour your heart and soul and cheer yourself on. Don't reserve all of your fanatical zeal for your favorite singer, dancer, athlete, or team. Live joy and exhilaration on your own behalf. Put it all on the line for your life. Stop being a spectator. It's time for you to get in the game.

What's Your Motivation?

At some point you heard about the claim that the world would begin to end on May 21. Some completely ignored it. Others mocked it. Some didn’t take it seriously, but said an extra prayer just in case. Others actually made changes to their lives in preparation. No matter how you interpreted this weekend's reports, I'm sure at some point you've considered what you would do if you knew you only had a day left to live. Over the weekend, I viewed reactions to this question and the answers were as varied as you can imagine. People said everything from getting drunk or high, making amends with others, and even making amends with God. Wherever you stand on the spectrum, I'd encourage you to ask yourself whether you are motivated by death or by life.

If you took a moment to reflect on how you would spend your last twenty-four hours and your answer was drastically different from your normal activities you may want to consider how you are living. It really shouldn't take something as drastic as the thought of the world ending or something as final as death for you to heal a broken relationship, forgive someone, try something new, listen inwardly, spend more time with family, or be grateful for what you have and who you are. Shouldn't living—not the potential absence of it—inspire you more? Shouldn't the thought of having ten, twenty, thirty, and maybe even forty more years of life be a bigger source of motivation than the inevitability of a final few hours? Why spend your perceived last twenty-four hours living a life that you could live for the next twenty-four years?

If you want a more meaningful relationship with your spouse or children, take the steps necessary to initiate that process. If you want to reconcile a broken relationship with a family member or an old friend write that letter, send that email, or make that phone call. If you want your life to have more purpose, seek out opportunities to give more of yourself. If you want a better spiritual life become active in practicing spirituality. If there's any area of your life that you'd like to improve start that improvement today. Don't wait for disaster, natural or otherwise, to be motivated to live. The world hasn't ended. You still have time. Don't wait for an impending end to motivate you more than the miracle of life.