OnAscent Radio

"For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'" – John Whittier

I was watching a replay of a church service this past week and the message was about procrastination. Procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something. I believe messages are delivered to each of us at the time we need to hear them. Whether or not we hear the message, is up to us. This was one of those messages for me. I heard it. I received it. And I now I'm declaring it to you.

The big question that I'm wrestling with today is: How much unmet potential am I willing to leave on the table? How much good work am I willing to leave undone?

Procrastination causes problems, trouble, and pain; it hurts people, it steals opportunity, and it wastes God-given potential.

In today's episode, we discuss four factors that cause us to procrastinate and five steps to stop procrastinating now and into the future.

Have you ever been involved in a race of some kind? Road race, obstacle course race, triathlon? I believe you have three types of people in these races: Participants, Athletes, and Ironmen. Here's the difference between the three: A participant is there to do nothing more than participate. Go through the motions, enjoy the atmosphere, and have a good time. An athlete is there to not only participate but to put forth a solid effort for that event. They've trained, practiced, and prepared for the event. Then you have the Ironman. The person who is playing to win. Period. They've not only prepared physically but also mentally. Their mind is focused on one thing: Winning. This week, I was reading in my Bible, and I was inspired by 1 Corinthians 9:24: "Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!"

Here's one of the problems that I see with people when it comes to their bodies: They don't work out or actually care about their bodies.

There are so many excuses and reasons people don't take care of their bodies: It's too expensive to eat healthy, I don't like working out, I don't have time. The list goes on and on.

But the possibility that is there for everyone to experience is to value and appreciate the body that God has given you.

Your body is the only thing that is with you in everything you do. Don't take it for granted. Treat it well.

Have you ever woken up and said, "Not Today"? How often does this happen? What do you do?

What do you do with the thoughts of, "I don't want to do a damn thing today. I don't want to work. I don't want to be around anyone. I just want to be left to my own agenda."

I want to always have drive and for my thoughts to be more positive and uplifting to move me forward. And I want to feel excited to show up every day and want to do the work.

What do I need to do to make that happen?

Change my story.

Not every day is sunshine and roses. I think the people that tell you that are full of shit. However, there is an opportunity to change your story, get clear on what you want, build the desired version of the story and take action to go get it.

The pendulum swings back and forth, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month.

My pendulum swings are extreme. The highs are high, and the lows are low. This has become more prevalent in my life lately, and I've become aware of this more than ever before. In the past, I would make excuses and brush it off as "the way life is supposed to be".

I hate the lows. I hate the person I am in the lows. I hate the way it makes me feel, think, and act. I want to run and hide. I want to disappear. I don't want to face it or feel it.

But it's life. We all experience this.

The highs are special, liberating, and time-collapsing. I see this and recognize it. I want more of this. I believe for me, what's making the lows so dark is how badly I want to be the man who experiences the highs more frequently.

It's exhausting living in the low side of the swing. But I've come to accept this as part of me, and if I want to be at a place in my life where I can accept all of me for me, then that will require me to embrace these swings and be willing to extract the lessons along the way.

If you feel this, experience it, and live it. Know this, you are not alone.

Prove it! A statement I say to myself repeatedly. Talk is cheap. Results speak for themselves. This is a mentality I've adopted over the years, and I'm not perfect, but I'm making progress. In most cases, this is an internal conversation that I have with myself when I want to create, be, or do something different or challenging. Prove it. Prove it to who? Myself. No one else. I need to prove to myself that I'm willing to do the work that is required in order to move the needle in my life. No one's coming to save me or do the work for me. I'm responsible. It's me that needs to own it. This way of living has hardened my mind, giving me proof each day that I can do hard shit. And as each day passes, another victory is won.

This past week, I spent a few days in Orlando at a conference. I saw some great friends and business colleagues that I haven't seen in a few years.

When I was on my way home, I had this overwhelming feeling of happiness, peace, and joy.

I asked myself, "Where is this coming from?"

Two places:

1. I don't do well out of my routines in changing environments, yet I felt relaxed and peaceful the entire time I was away.

2. I was also excited to come home.

This may sound so simple and easy to others, but for me, breaking routines is very difficult. The fact that I let myself feel this happiness, joy, and peace is massive progress for me.

It was a positive experience because I struggle with allowing myself to feel the good feelings. The difficult, hard feelings, however, I have no problem feeling.

The most significant revelation I had through experiencing this situation was, feelings are always evoked. What's important is whether or not I'm willing to be present in the moment and allow myself to feel them and dig into why I feel the way I do.

Maybe you're like me... I constantly think, "You're not good enough." I think of my shortcomings and failures. I'm hard on myself. If I keep creating a negative narrative from my past, I guess I shouldn't be surprised when my present follows suit. That's the realization I want to share with you today: we create our own narrative, and we must take control of it and make it positive... otherwise, nothing will ever change for the better. We must pinpoint what we desire and change our inner monologues to positive affirmations and calls to rise to the occasion and accomplish those desires. We cannot let our past dictate our future. Change begins with what we tell ourselves.

Last week I left you with an unanswered question: Why do I choose to grow?

"To give light to those who sit in the darkness and to guide them to a path of peace."

I have this strong desire to help and serve people. To solve problems. To plan. To help people who are hurting and walk with them.

I'm fighting for my own life so I can hold space for you.

In order to do that, I MUST DIE... at least, these parts of me:

- the "not good enough" attitude - the "you're not worthy" mindset - past habits of living comfortably - the fear of speaking truth - weakness as a leader and as a man

I have a simple decision to make:

Live a life of truth, or Live a life of lies.

I must be honest with myself and go after what I want.

If it's not me who's going to set the standard, then who will?

A Simple Decision

Welcome to the first episode of OnAscent Radio for 2023.

What a year 2022 was. It has come and gone. Can't change it. Can't take it back. Can't stop time.

Now the conversation shifts. It's a new year; Who do you want to become?

The problem: You sold out a long time ago, and you got comfortable. You became ok with being less-than. Your willingness to pursue more dwindled, which affected everything: your faith, your family, your fitness, your finances.

Why are you choosing to sell out?

Why do you need to pursue more?

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