The Final 10: Not Settling for Almost
So it's Monday and everyone is wading back into the fray of life. But one more venture into some New Year's talk if we might before the ordinary swallows us whole.
A new year is about a starting new things, but what about finishing what's been started before you just settle for 'almost'.
One of my new year's resolution is to lose the final ten pounds I've been carrying. Last year I joined a gym and I lost 15 pounds, but I've clung to the final ten like they are good friends. From everything I hear, the final ten is the hardest.
I've been thinking that might be true in life as well. When we're trying to make progress in an area and God is chipping away at us, making changes, it's tempting to settle for some change without going for profound change. Maybe God is working on your anger. Or you are trying to make progress in being more compassionate. Or you are almost out of debt. Or you have almost nailed a bad habit. See, I've lost enough weight to feel good about what's happened, but not enough to really finish what I started. It's that last 10 that takes so much more effort.
Some thoughts:
- You can lose the first ten with some change, but you can only lose the final ten with deep change.
- You might have made peace with the final ten because they've been part of you for so long.
- Your whole image of yourself might have to change because you are going from "a lot" to "some" to "none". None is a long way from "a lot".
The difference between losing the final ten and keeping it is surrender. Maybe it means giving up making peace with the enemy and actually deciding he has to go. As it is with the body, so it is with our character and spiritual life. I'm sure God would love to get at the final ten of so much inside of us. I wonder how different we would be.
What do you find when you're trying to lose the final ten in any area? In which area do you need to lose the final ten? What's hardest about it? What scares you most? What has helped you most?
Something came up in last nights study group link. “Do everything you can and leave the outcome to God”. (I know most of you are as familiar with this as your own name.) For a control freak like myself, I’m only just resolving to this concept.
If I lose the last 10, and completely rid myself of what I was, who will I be? It’s a real non comfort zone. There’s also the speed with which we change that can be quite scary. It took me over 40 years to build these bad habits and now I have to change right away?
That’s the faith of it. It’s faith in God that I must have. Until I let go of that last 10, my life will continue to repeat its sequence.
Hmm! I’m getting rid of that last 10!! Thanks, Carey. Another piece of the puzzle put in place.
Julie and I were just discussing this and, as usual, she has incredible insight.
What happens when we do actually lose that final 10. We win. We’ve accomplished the task. that’s a great satisfaction. But, at what cost? it would take twice as much energy and discipline to get rid of the final 10 as it was to get rid of the first 15. Then, who do we keep it that way.
It requires great discipline and order to maintain that level of accomplishment; 100%. Other things would suffer as a sacrifice. To keep up that perfection is really hard. All our energy would be focused on getting rid of the final 10 and keeping it that way.
The natural thing is to slip back to carrying that last 10lbs. Maybe keeping that last 10 lbs is worth it to keep balance in our lives. Maybe 80% is good enough. We’ve resolved ourselves to that expectation in everyday life, especially in our jobs.
If our lifestyle standard is to reach 80% and always carry a To Do list, like a balance on our Visa, then how can we commit to God a full 100%?
I used to weight train. I know the cost of time and money required for body building. I spent 3 hours a day weight training; over $400 / month (in the 80’s) on food, the rest of the time in study and what little time I had left, sleeping. I felt great! I kept that up for three years. I look in the mirror and there’s no evidence of that investment.
Am I not setting my standards high enough? Or, as my ma used to say, am I setting my standards too high thereby setting myself up for failure?
Maybe I HAVE to lose that last 10. Maybe I HAVE give myself entirely to Christ so God can help me change the things I want to change. I don’t know if I can do that.
Hey Steve,
Great questions, and it’s hard to know which is the ‘right’ answer?
I wonder sometimes if it’s not a question of all out commitment, but commitment to the right things? For example, in try to lose the last ten, I could do nothing but weight training, but if I ignore cardio, it’s not going to happen.
I wonder if part of figuring out what the final 10 is in whatever we’re dealing with is figuring out what we’re trying to lose and how we’re trying to lose it. It might not be about greater devotion (sounds like you are very devoted), but just a different strategy and accurate diagnosis about what you need to change.
As far as I know, self reflection, prayer and the advice of good friends can help so much in finding that out.
This is such a great blog topic. I sat in front of my computer monitor knowing I had something to say about the matter and realized that it is in my character to always look for the final word… something to complete the argument (the final 10) and realized this – being a part of the conversation sometimes is the most gratifying part and not necessarily having the best final argument. So while keeping your eye on the final destination for bearing sake is important, ultimately it really is about enjoying how you get there – the final destination then comes with so many more passionate stories to tell.