T
he most significant part of your life is still ahead of you! Oh, you thought the best of your life may have already passed? If you are limiting your thinking to your own mind, you may be right. Most people will talk about the good times as if they are gone, only to be resurrected in the mind's ability to remember them. We are our own worst enemies if we spend our time concentrating on the past with some level of regret, or thinking about the future with some level of fear. The problem with this mindset is that you are not truly living in the moment. You're not enjoying the reality of what is happening around you and what might set the stage for the future. Isn't it interesting that everything in life happens in the moment, but it is in the moment that we spend the least amount of emotional time? The "in the moment" opportunities we miss may lead to the better future of our life. You missed it! "What did I miss?" you ask. "I don't know! Whatever it was that happened while you were regretting the past or fearing the future."
At this very moment, everything that will ever happen in your life is right in front of you. Capture the thought that you are already the full-unrealized potential of what you will ever be! In other words, you are loaded with life, talents and a Gift to be shared. Your uniqueness will change the world around you when applied to the opportunities that come your way each day. The greatness of your life is beginning at this very moment. Think of Christ who spent his first thirty years on earth in preparation before he went out to share Himself among the public. The three years that followed changed the world forever. Our lives are a continual preparation for the use of our Gift...each day in some way, if we respond to the opportunities that come to us. It is never too late to start embracing each moment and never too late to do something significant that may reveal the destiny of your life.
I often remind myself of Peter Drucker, the social ecologist, who wrote 39 books on society and management. He accomplished more than sixty percent of his writing over the age of 70. His last book was written when he was 94 years old. My point here is not that the greatest use of your Gift and talents is age relevant, but it is important to note that you are never too young or too old to lose your level of expectation. The human characteristic of positive expectation can help us focus on what is coming as we open ourselves up to what is happening in every moment.
"So, what do you suggest I do Thom?" you may be thinking. "Well, I'm glad you asked!" First, condition yourself each day for something that may come your way no matter how big or small; something that will direct you to the path of your destiny and to your life service. Second, direct you focus each morning with a little prayer. Pray that you will have an open mind and heart to respond to the opportunities that come to you without your effort. Third, each evening, answer the question, "What did I encounter today that opened me to the opportunities of my potential?"
Some days you will have nothing more than a blank response and you may not recognize what actually happened that day. However, over time, this exercise opens your mind, heart and will to what is confirming the best part of your life: your call to purpose, fulfillment and meaning.
