Today is NOT a Dress Rehearsal

Have you noticed the world is a mess right now? It’s almost impossible to find a new home, an affordable apartment lease or even a new refrigerator. We are still dealing with the aftereffects of Covid – a gallon of gasoline, a loaf of bread and used car prices are soaring; there seems to be no end in sight. The country is more politically divided than ever and Russia has disrupted the lives of millions of people in a neighboring country. It feels like the world has held its breath, hoping for days of no masks, no vaccines and a return to more reasonable rates of inflation.

While we hope for a better tomorrow, time marches on. As you read this blog post, know that by days end, another day of our life will have passed us by. Not only has the world been disrupted, but individually each one of us has had to process the impact that the pandemic has had on our daily lives. It’s easy to sit back and wait on the right time to re-engage with our goals. The reality is we can’t because today is not a dress rehearsal, and we won’t get a “make-up” day to replace it simply because it was challenging. It is easy to take the day off and drift, but then one day turns to two, then a week and then a month. Before long we are so disengaged from the vision we have for our lives that we lose our sense of direction. There has never been a more important time to be intentional about achieving our goals every day.

This fall I will head back to British Columbia to hunt for a trophy Stone Sheep. As I was making plans for this trip, I recalled my last hunting trip there in 2018. When I booked that hunting trip in 2018, I read how physically demanding it was, climbing to high altitudes as well as riding on horseback, sometimes for hours at a time. The guide went on to explain this hunt was really demanding and was only for those people who were in excellent physical condition. If I was concerned, I should consider an easier hunt. Since I didn’t really like that answer, I resolved to get myself in tiptop physical condition. This hunt would prove to be a test of my preparation as well as my endurance.

So, in the fall of 2018, with a goal and a date I got busy preparing and committed myself to a consistent, daily regimen. By the time I left for my trip in September of 2019 … I had lifted over 1.5 mm pounds of weights, cycled over 4,000 miles, dropped 50 pounds of fat and added 15 pounds of muscle.

Not only did I focus on getting ready physically, I also had other preparation to do. I researched the ideal rifle for my hunt – one that not only was the correct caliber to ensure a clean kill, but one that also had a shooting system that would allow me to make a long-distance shot. After I had my rifle, I made sure I had the correct ballistic ammunition that would increase my odds of a successful shot. I researched the kill zone of a moose to make sure I knew right where to aim when it was time for the shot. I spent time at the gun range practicing my shooting and even attended a long-range shooting school. I researched every piece of equipment I would need from boots to backpack; no detail was overlooked.

I took long horseback rides to get my body acclimated to spending hours in the saddle. And finally, I walked miles and miles with a weighted backpack up and down steep hills to ensure I was in top physical condition.

When I arrived in British Columbia, I knew I was fully prepared. Strangely enough, even during the most grueling times during the hunt (like riding back to camp in the dark while freezing cold), I found myself actually enjoying the entire experience knowing my hard work was paying off. When I returned home, I reflected on everything that I had done to prepare – physically, mentally, equipment – I realized I had done something in preparation for that trip every single day. I had been very intentional about the entire process. I hadn’t set a goal and simply hoped it would happen or just written down a few action steps. I focused on it every single day and over time discovered I really enjoyed the entire process, even the early morning workouts.

As I thought about this further, I asked myself what would happen if I was this intentional about goals in every other part of my life?

What if I were so intentional as the leader of GPS?

What if I were so intentional in my walk with God?

What if I were so intentional as a Dad, partner and friend?

How was it possible that I was enjoying the daily tasks I was completing towards my trip? I had been programmed to realize the joy and satisfaction once the goal was achieved, not along the way. No doubt I was focused on this goal like no other before …. what was different? I realized I was motivated by a clear vision and actually enjoyed the daily steps knowing I was making progress toward achieving my goal.

As a result of this discovery, I realized there were many areas of my life in which I needed to become much more intentional about today instead of having a goal to “someday”- to someday go back to my men’s Bible Study. To someday read that new book on Leadership that is sitting on my desk, to someday take time to watch my daughter’s favorite TV show or to someday take time to go and shoot sporting clays with a friend. I realized I can’t be unintentional about anything that I consider important.

And what did happen on that moose hunt? After all the work I had put into it, did I end up shooting that trophy? My hard work paid off indeed – all the hard work, all the preparation, all the planning – the result was standing there looking at me 30 yards away.

I decided to let that moose walk since he didn’t meet my exact trophy criteria. While I didn’t shoot a moose, I got something of more importance – a life lesson on the importance of being intentional. What’s next? Back to British Columbia this August in search of a trophy Stone Sheep. The guide tells me its grueling, with lots of climbing, and I must be in tip top physical condition. The good news is I know exactly what to do this time because I realize that today is not a dress rehearsal and each and every day I must be intentional about the steps I take to achieve my goals.