Get Real

We made it! I must admit there were stretches of 2020 that felt timeless. Timeless in a weird way like waiting for the clock to expire at the end of a school day. With all the chaos that was 2020, 2021 looked like a fountain drink on a hot summer day. A few swigs in it’s obvious, the syrup or carbonation has already run out. Maybe both!

I consider myself to be an optimistic person. My glass is half full and there’s always a silver lining. So much about success comes down to attitude and I’ve seen it played out in many sectors. People who may not have the most skill end up achieving the most in large part due to attitude. If I could only select two characteristics for myself or someone on my team they would be: attitude and persistence. 2020 (or 2021 for that matter) will not shake my views on that.

While at times barely clinging to an optimistic outlook, this unique season is teaching me a vital lesson. That lesson is the importance of:

Defining Reality

Reality and optimism don’t have to be mutually exclusive, but a serial optimist like myself can find themselves traction-less if optimism prevents one from getting real. I once spent an entire night trying to no avail getting my Ford Bronco out of a ravine. The more I hit the gas, the deeper I got. It wasn’t until I defined reality and called my dad and a wrecker that progress was made.

I wish January 1 would operate like a kitchen strainer allowing us to slip into a new year and leave all the challenges of last year behind. But that wouldn’t be an accurate definition of reality. Reality is, most challenges only disappear when they are dealt with. That’s when defining reality gets real and optimism can become productive. A few years ago, about this time, I finally came to realize that waiting on someone else to give me an opportunity and permission to do what I loved was an optimistic outlook disconnected from reality. I had no control over the decisions of others and to keep sitting back anticipating different results was insanity. It was this moment of defining reality that led to one of the greatest breakthroughs in my life. God started opening new doors when I started focusing on what I could do rather than what was outside my control.   

What reality do you need to define?

It’s the starting point for change. Once reality is defined it’s much easier to focus on the things we can do which in my experience begets an even greater sense of optimism. From the simplest problems (not necessarily easy) like getting in shape, to the most complex problems like racial injustice, defining reality is a springboard into discovering the real, actionable, and personal, steps I can do to bring about change. We might not be able to overhaul the entire system, but that’s rather insignificant compared to a changed reality in my life, family, church, neighborhood, or city. That’s were change gets real and it’s normally the vary spheres of influence we’ve been given that get neglected.

I don’t know what 2021 has in store. I’m sure we’ll face challenges no one could foresee or imagine. Whatever the challenge, we’d do well with defining our reality. It’s where we’ll gain traction. I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised how defining our reality fosters an optimistic perspective. Here’s to a new year of getting real!