Every day most of us will face a challenge of some kind. They may be self inflicted, for example delivering on a deadline earlier than requested or running an extra 15 minutes at the gym. Other challenges and stresses are from external sources. In either case we have to stretch ourselves to rise to the challenge and go beyond what is comfortable. It can be difficult to see how you are ever going to do what is required of you, but here’s a secret… You can do more than you think.
How do you eat an elephant?
Challenges can be daunting. When you stand at the bottom of a mountain that you’re about to climb, the top can seem a world away from where you are. The good news is you don’t climb a mountain in one big leap; each little step takes you closer to your goal. You just have to keep going. After all the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.
I’m mom to four kids. It’s a fairly big job and I’m often asked, “How do you do it?”. I’m not sure my answer is ever what people expect but the only response I can give is that you don’t usually start with four children all at once. Adding one at a time grows your capacity slowly until you’re able to handle a whole lot more than you did before you started.
Many of life’s challenges are the same. You don’t usually land the position of CEO of a large international company on your first day out of university. You’re not expected to win the Olympic gold the first occasion you put on a pair of running shoes, but just because the goal is far off, doesn’t mean you can’t aim for something big and push the boundaries. Just because it’s impossible when you start doesn’t mean it will always be impossible.
It’s all in your mind
Your ability to go beyond what is currently possible is directly related to your ability to believe you can. Very often we allow limitations to be set by our circumstances or by those around us but if we change our thinking, it’s amazing what can be achieved.
Not in your own strength
Throughout the Bible, God told people to think bigger, to believe for more, and to make space for impossible things to happen. Sadly there were occasions that He told people to reach further but they missed out because they put their own limitations on the situation even though God had more in store for them. What would you be reaching towards, or believing for, if you knew God was on your side?