That is what our feelings do...sometimes they will change quickly, other times it takes months or years but inevitably feelings fade. And with our fading feelings, commitments aren't kept and promises are broken. It happens to us all - sometimes we are the promise breakers and sometimes we are the breakees (I know that is not a thing but go with it).
Once upon a time I was a Mary Kay sales director and we would often speak of our pink bubble. The pink bubble is a magical place most often found at our annual company event in Dallas. The pink bubble is a place where literally all of your dreams can come true. You are on top of the world - you feel beautiful, you feel important, you have friends, you can overcome every obstacle and you are going to change the world! But we all knew that pretty much as soon as we crossed the Red River or very soon after, those feelings would fade. So it was important to make plans - to break our goal into bite-size pieces- and make commitments to ourselves, our spouses, our fellow consultants or directors, etc. so that we would have an action plan and people in place to hold us accountable.
Sometimes, we (I) stuck to the action plan but more often than not...we (I) did not.
Every year people all over the world make a decision at the beginning of a new year to lose weight, get in shape, develop better habits and it usually lasts for a week, maybe two, but at some point, we lose momentum, we get discouraged or maybe we are just plain busy.
Sometimes people stick with the plan and see results but often they do not.
Love is a special, wonderful, beautiful thing and day after day many, many couples pledge their eternal love for each other until death do them part. Everything is so romantic and lovey-dovey. They build a life together, they have children, they make promises...everything just feels so right.
Sometimes couples stay together until literal death separates them but so often they do not.
What is up with this? These are only a few examples but there are so many! Time and time again we make commitments when feelings are high. We plan futures, we make promises, we are certain that this time we will follow through because this time is different. This time we really mean it. We will be more disciplined with our money, we will give more to missions, we will get better at reading our Bibles, we will get the house remodeled - shoot, we will get it cleaned! We will spend more time with our kids, we will speak sweeter to our spouses, we will go to bed earlier, we will stick with the diet, and on and on and on and on. And believe me, I am not pointing my fingers at anyone else - I am speaking from daily personal experience! And I get so frustrated with myself! When will I learn, when will I do better?
What does better look like? Do we make less commitments? Or do we strive to be perfect? Do we focus on one thing at a time? (because God knows there are too many things to fix all at once!!!)
What about when we change our mind? I am going to spend the next couple of days talking about how to have the heart of a finisher!
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