Regret
Regret. It’s a word that packs a powerful punch every time we hear it. None of us want to look back on our lives with regret, yet that’s what many of us will face when we come to the end of our lives simply because we let fear keep us from doing what God put in our hearts to do.
So many of us spend too much of our lives on the sidelines wishing, wanting, and hoping instead of jumping into the ring. We dream about the book we long to write, the product that would help so many people, the blog that could make a difference, the small business we know God wants us to start. But fear keeps us back from going after that dream.
The Power of Regret
Danie Pink, the author of several best-sellers including his most recent book, The Power of Regret, collected 16,000 regrets from people in 105 countries. He says that one of the top regrets people have is inaction—not taking a chance.
He posted this picture on social media.
How many of us are living a life we are going to regret one day simply because we have been too fearful to move forward into what God wants us to do?
Reasons We Hold Back
1. We fear what others will think of us.
So often, we let our fear of what others will think hold us back. In reality, most people are too busy living their own life afraid of what others will think of them to worry about what you’re doing. And here’s the deal. So what? What if they don’t approve? What if somebody doesn’t like what you’re doing? It doesn’t matter. Our judgment comes from God. (Proverbs 29:26) It doesn’t matter what others think of us.
2. We think we won’t succeed.
We have this built-in alarm that blares loudly whenever we attempt to do something that is not a guaranteed success. Most of us can’t even allow ourselves to try something unless we are absolutely sure it will succeed. Here’s the thing; you probably will fail. There you go—your encouragement for today. 😁 The fact of the matter is we all fail. Matt and I started a business in 2011 that completely failed. Was it hard? Yes. Discouraging? Yes. But did we learn so much? Yes. Because of that failure, we knew what to do differently for Manney Resources when we launched that business in 2020. We can’t let the fear of failure keep us from trying.
3. It seems like a waste of time, money, and resources.
This one is a hard one. I know what it’s like not to have even a penny to put behind a business, blog, book, product, etc. There are so many ways to get around this. Figure out a way to start without spending any money or little money. It may mean that you don’t have all the bells and whistles when you first start, but start anyway. Just get the ball moving; the money will come in time. If you are doing what God created you to do and fulfilling the purpose he’s given you, then it’s not a waste of time, money, or resources. It’s just the opposite. It’s investing the resources he gave you. When you do that, he can funnel more towards you.
4. It doesn’t seem possible.
If it feels possible, it probably isn’t from God. The thing is that God gives us more than we can handle mostly so that we have to keep returning to him time and again. If God’s given you a big dream, go after it. He will give you the grace and strength for it. On the other hand, even if your dream doesn’t seem huge, go after it anyway. You have no idea what God could do with it once you get started.
5. We don’t think anybody will stand behind what we’re doing.
This is a lie Satan uses to keep us from doing what God wants us to do. I am always amazed at the cheerleaders God sends along the way. Often, it’s not anybody I ever thought of. Somebody sends an email, shares a post, or buys a product and reaches out to me and lets me know how much they appreciated it. It’s usually someone that totally surprises me. Don’t let the thought that nobody will get behind what you’re doing stop you, because you will be surprised. When you step out and start something, people will cheer you on. Will everybody? No. But those that don’t will fall away, and you will find the ones that do.
Choose to Simply Start
There are so many fears that keep us from wanting to move forward on what God has created us to do. We have to turn our back on those fears and just start. Today. There will never be a perfect time. We have to choose to simply start. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, had something to say about this principle in the book of Ecclesiastes.
Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT
If you wait for everything to be perfect, you will never start. If you wait for the finances to come in, for the support of others, for the perfect product or manuscript, you won’t ever get started. So push all that away and start. Don’t come to the end of your life and look back with regret simply because you were too fearful to do what God put in your heart to do.
More Encouragement
For more encouragement, check my post Don’t Give Up on the Dream God has Given You. A great book on this topic is Soar by T. D. Jakes.
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