RIVER RIDGE RANCH RULE #4
We have worked on managing the mental, we don't let setbacks or unmet expectations take us out of our game.
We have chosen to live out of faith, not fear.
We have taken the time to figure out our unique identity, exactly what God made me to be and do while I am on this earth.
Now it's time to get strategic about mapping out a great game plan for life. That takes a lot of prayer and a few good trail guides to ride with you.
Here is an excerpt from the book after the men went river rafting:
Jack liked what he heard. “That’s what happens every time we try to solve a problem or take on a new project unprepared. Without a strategic game plan, the anxiety of the unknowns will cause us to hesitate, even freeze and retreat. Consider the amount of decisions we make every day. The quality of those decisions are either deposits or withdrawals in our lives. What are a few ways you make decisions?”
”Clint, who stayed with the group, added, “Some life lessons you learn the hard way. The unintended consequences of decisions made by an angry, impulsive dad greatly impacted my life. I learned firsthand the ripple effect of one poor decision. If you do A, then B is going to happen. Once B happens, you may get another choice, but most times, the impending results are in motion. That means C is going to happen and you may not like what it is. My dad robbed a liquor store when I was in high school. He pulled a gun on the clerk. The clerk reacted by trying to grab the gun and it discharged, the bullet going through the clerk’s stomach. My dad had no chance to decide C, which was ten years in a maximum-security prison. Decisions don’t live in a bubble. His actions blew up all our lives. I watched my dad make one poor decision after another. He drank on the job and got fired. We had no money. He used to get drunk and hit my mom. She left him. Then he robbed a store. I often wonder if he could have waited until he got home before drinking? Or learned to moderate his intake. He’d still be working. If he focused on his marriage, mom might have stayed. The liquor store never happens if he made a hundred better decisions.”
His comments set a somber mood. No one knew how to react, including Jack. Once again, the best way to honor raw honesty is to let the moment linger.
After an appropriate amount of time, Jack intervened by saying, “For now, let’s focus on making great decisions and avoiding the pain of consequence and regret. A couple of strategies that have served me well: first, asking empowering questions, and second, play out the decision in my head, visualizing all the outcomes. The quality of your questions will determine the success of your decisions.
My staff spent day and night talking out all potential scenarios for upcoming football games. We had depth charts for injury replacements. We called running plays based on down and yardage against certain defenses. If defenses changed, we adjusted at the line of scrimmage. We knew how many minutes we wanted to control the clock on offense. Do we change our offensive strategy if it snows? How do we exploit an injury to a key player? You name a scenario, and we had a strategy and a backup strategy. Then during the game, we made constant adjustments, focusing on getting better. The next series on the field, how do we get in the end zone?“I know I say this a lot, but it is true.
Whatever you focus on, you feel. If we ask empowering, strategic questions, we stay focused on creating solutions. If we drift into disempowering questions, we could easily get overwhelmed in that moment. And like Clint shared, one poor decision can create negative momentum you might not be able to turn around.”
How are things going for you? Is it time to take a life assessment? What are some important things that you should start doing? Or maybe the greatest impact would be to stop doing some things that are throwing you off your horse.
The good news is no matter where you are in life, things can begin to turn around the moment we figure out the best trails for ourselves, our families, our careers and our relationship with the Lord.
He is all about second and third chances. He's standing right next to the horse waiting for you to saddle up and go. He will ride with you!