W08 - Don't Give Up!

The overall theme of this week seems to be perseverance and ways to prepare ourselves against ourselves. That may sound like a convoluted sentence, but the idea is that we can be our own worst enemies and we should prepare for that. As easy as that may sound, it’s proven to be far more difficult than I imagined it would be.

Many of my successes in life are because I know how to work, and I don’t like wasted time or inefficiencies. As a Six Sigma Black Belt I’ve made many career advancements simply by isolating and fixing gaps, issues, and problems simply by determining the root cause of an issue and applying standard tools and methodologies to correct them. Doing that to yourself is a little bit harder. Fears aren’t always rational, but they are real.

For example, I have a fear of putting my family in a compromised position. My first marriage ended in disaster and I promised God and myself I would absolutely not allow that to happen again. I am firmly convinced my wife is the greatest personal gift my Father in heaven has ever blessed me with, outside of my savior, and I intend to take care of her. But there have been times when the desire to play it safe, in the name of protecting my family, has caused me to miss an opportunity.

I don’t actually believe God wants me to miss those opportunities, and I know for a fact that he won’t always put up a figurative neon sign that says, “this is a blessing for you!”. I know I need to be faithful and to work. So, facing those fears and balancing my responsibilities with opportunities is something I’ve had to continually work on.

This week has been a lesson in preparation for those famous words by Elder Holland “Don’t you give up!”. I don’t intend to give up, I just need to prepare myself, in spite of my own fears, to know when to take a chance and when to stay safe.