The 5 Steps to Personal Development : ANTICIPATION
As business leaders, we all have the desire to grow, produce and advance. We creatively and strategically develop plans for our businesses that, hopefully, will help it succeed in the days, months, and years ahead. Do we take the time to do the same for ourselves?
Over the next few weeks, Monday Meditations will continue to explore:
“The 5 Steps to Personal Development”.
Week #5: ANTICIPATION
It’s always good to have something to look forward to.
As a child, I remember the excitement and anticipation brought about by the Christmas season. It was a glorious day when the huge Toy Catalog from Sears arrived at our home.
The pages were full of colourful images of kids who were clearly enjoying themselves as they played with, and modelled with, the latest gadgets, games and sports equipment; all of which were quite appealing to me.
I would dog-ear the pages of those things that were most attractive and hope for these things to magically appear beneath the tree just waiting to be united with me on Christmas morning. The anticipation and excitement was extreme!
As life progressed beyond toys and games, my anticipations have turned to other things. Vacations and adventures. Time spent with family and friends. Achieving certain milestones of growth in business. Spiritual lessons learned and growing deeper in my faith. Things that have significantly higher value to me now.
Q: What are some of the things you are currently anticipating?
We often use other words that have the same principles and understanding as “anticipation”; forecasting, outlook, projection, etc. We use these business words to express our thoughts as we engage in a forward-looking, strategic-thinking vision that we believe will help us accurately determine “what will be”.
All of my personal examples listed above point towards the hope of receiving or achieving things that are fun, enjoyable and/or exciting. However, anticipation, by definition, can also involve seeing a future or consequence that may not be so pleasant.
For instance, investors and economic advisors are currently anticipating a recession. And, if you listen to the media, the coming recession could be one of the deepest and harshest in history. How did they arrive at this decision?
I want to propose there is a formula we use when we strive to have accurate ANTICIPATION. It looks like this:
Knowledge + Experience = ANTICIPATION
Explaining the formula, our lifelong acquired bag of knowledge gives us a sense of what we believe to be right or wrong. This knowledge is used as a filter to help guide our thoughts when we think about the future. We also use our past experiences to help inform what likely will happen in the future. When we combine those two elements we can arrive at a predicted future with a certain level of accuracy.
So, what do we, as Christians and Corpath members, do with this last step of personal development?
While we tend to rely on our own knowledge and experience to direct our paths, we need to also understand that the formula as listed above does not apply to God. It can’t. He is all-knowing (omniscient). Even the future is known to him. While we try to anticipate the future, we often forget He’s already been there. He has no need to rely on past experiences as a way of informing the future.
When we don’t have enough knowledge or past experience to help us anticipate an outcome we then need to rely on our FAITH in God’s plan to direct us into HOPE.
Consider this; when a group of Israelite exiles were being held captive in Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah received a message from God and sent a letter to them. In it he encourages them with these words:
”For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)
I wonder what the exiles thought when they received the message from Jeremiah. They had knowledge that God had helped their ancestors in the past, however, their current situation (experience) was that they were prisoners and could not see any possible means of escape or release. From their point of view, their anticipation for a promising outcome looked bleak. Yet, God sent them the message of hope declaring a better future of prosperity. If they were to accept this message they needed to have FAITH in His plans.
Q: In what areas is your sense of positive anticipation being challenged? What is God saying to you, right now, about having FAITH in Him that leads to having HOPE for a positive outcome?
As we finish the “5 Steps to Personal Development”, it seems appropriate that we finish with the step that requires faith.
Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”
It’s good to make plans for growth, development and progress. In fact, it’s expected of us to do so. However, we should always remember that God is there guiding our steps all along the way.
My Prayer:
God, I praise you for your infiniteness. You are aware of all things. I ask that you go before me, above me, below me, behind me, and beside me in all of my steps. Guide me with your Holy Spirit. May I be humble in my successes and confident in my hopes. Amen.
Blessings as Always!
Steve Shrout
President, Corpath Forums
"Pursuing Excellence in Business, Life and Spirit"
Special Note:
If you enjoyed today’s message, then share it with someone. Also, use this content and questions as a discussion guide in your next Forum Group meeting.
Attached to this email is a printable PDF you can use to help with your meditation and reflection. I encourage you to print it, answer the questions and then keep it in a Corpath binder or folder for future reference and thought. You will receive a new PDF each week with each new Monday Meditation, and, over time, your binder will become a book representing your Corpath journey of BUSINESS thoughts, personal LIFE development, and SPIRITUAL growth.
