Today I had an “Aha" moment. Last night I had one of those vividly real dreams. You know the ones - the dreams you feel like you’re still in even after waking up? I had one of those dreams, woke up, then struggled to go back to sleep - I was so caught up in all the drama of the dream. The dream had me in a firefight in the Middle East, not really sure who I was fighting, ISIS, Al Quida, Hamas. I couldn't figure out what my role was, I just knew we were fighting for our lives. Probably read too many books like "Lone Survivor and "American Sniper" recently. Finally through my dream-muddled mind, I remembered my alarm clock would be going off at seven. Then it dawned on me that it would do so no matter what. It didn't depend on geo–political contingencies; it just is a steady beacon. It became my anchor that I used to wrench my mind out of the confusion of the dream, and fell back to sleep.
The alarm eventually went off. When it did, I thought back to my experience and I realized that it was a metaphor for a story I often tell to help people understand how to reach a goal or dream. The idea that most of us don't reach our goals because we don't have a big enough WHY to see over the obstacles that are sure to get in our way. Whenever we start on the path to chase a goal we are fired up! Then the realities of life pop up in our way. Personal challenges, family challenges, work challenges, money challenges, time challenges all spring forth to clutter our minds, destroy our focus, and distract us from our goals. It is for this reason that your WHY needs to be big enough to see over your obstacles. That is what I realized the alarm clock was. It was the beacon that reminded me of the desired reality that helped me cut through the clutter that had taken over my mind. Your WHY is that Lighthouse, that Beacon that you must focus on to get past whatever storm.
As Jesus said in Luke 9:62 "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God." Anyone who grew up on a farm understand what this means. When you plow a field you first walk it off to measure and mark a spot to plow to to make a straight "headrow" or first pass. If you turn your head back and take your eye off your mark you will see exactly when you did it because you won't be straight there. Your WHY is your Lighthouse, your Beacon, your "alarm clock" to help you see past the obstacles in your way.
