Have you ever felt like life was either moving too fast or too slow? No matter what you did it either was not enough or too little too late.
You might have thought you had things under control, but the truth was you were losing control? Maybe it was losing control of your family, finances, fitness, friendships, or your faith. I admit there have been times in my life when the situation or the circumstance was in more control of me than I was in control of it.
It is both a hopeless and helpless feeling when we feel out of control, and often during this time we get an unwelcomed visit from the terrible twins, drama, and trauma. Drama and trauma can cause intense emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, and guilt. These emotions can alter our beliefs and attitudes towards ourselves, others, and the world around us.
During one of his Sunday sermons, my pastor stated that now is the time we need to “tighten our grip.” The phrase is a metaphor to help us improve our situation or station in life. The more I reflected on what he was saying it resonated strongly with me based upon some of the things I was experiencing.
To me, it meant that there were some things that were loose in my life and I needed to increase my control of them. They say a sermon is most effective when you feel like the preacher is talking directly to you. That Sunday morning, I knew my pastor was speaking to me.
The message made me realize that if I was to increase my financial bottom line, I needed to tighten my grip be on where I was spending money. If I was going to lose weight, I had to tighten my grip on what I was eating and stay consistent with exercising. What in your life do you need to tighten your grip on?
When we do a thorough inspection and introspection on our lives, there is usually something we need to clean up, tighten up, and tighten our grip on. No matter our age, we can always pivot and tighten our grip to achieve the goals we desire.
I am in a season of life where time is most precious. I need to tighten up and get a better grip on where I allocate my time. I have a lot of things pulling at me, and all of them are important, but I know I cannot do everything or be everything to everybody, especially if I want to accomplish my desired goals.
How do you stay true to what is important, but still have compassion towards everything and everybody that needs your time and attention? It is important to talk to those who depend on you and let them know where you are and what you are trying to accomplish.
I think it is important to know what is business, instead of busyness. Do not confuse activity with accomplishment. Do not add more when you are trying to subtract things, it will only divide your time and multiply your problems.
Tighten your grip means we must assume responsibility for our actions, decisions, and circumstances. It means we must be proactive rather than reactive and actively making choices that shape our life. It means setting goals and developing a plan to achieve them.
To tighten our grip also involves being accountable for our mistakes and learning from them, taking steps to improve ourselves, and taking charge of our emotions and reactions to different people and situations.
Sometimes if we fear failure, it can cause us to not live up to our potential. So, let us tighten our grip and get back on track.
Healing Without Hate: It’s a choice. It’s a lifestyle. Pass it on.
Visit www.WendyGladney.com and www.forgivingforliving.org to learn more. Wendy is a life strategist, coach, consultant, author, and speaker.
