There is a great lesson from a parable in the bible about a farmer, it says,
“A man scatters seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head. As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
We cannot make our seed grow, we cannot magically bring forth our harvest, we can’t miraculously manifest success in our lives, no one can. So, is life just a game of chance? Should we just throw up our hands in surrender and live a life of frivolous pleasure?
NO!
We cannot control the results we get in life, that is a job left up to the God you believe in. What we can control is our ritual.
Ritual Vs. Results
Here is the definition of these two words:
- Ritual – a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.
- Results – a consequence, effect, or outcome of something.
It is very popular to hear in our society today, “go hustle”, “winners win”. Or even when the topic is about goals, many people set their goals on the “end result” . We want a certain level of income, a certain type of car, a specific home, we want our bodies to look a certain way. Now don’t get me wrong I think it is vital to indicate a destination you are headed to, so setting specific goals in the different areas of our lives is very important, it just cannot be the most important thing to us.
The least popular out of these two in our world today is someone having a ritual they consistently “perform according to a prescribed order”. In today’s world it is very easy to be distracted by the newest fad of things that sound like, “lose 10 pounds in ten minutes a day” or “invest zero money and get back 1 million dollars”. Our human nature is drawn to the path of least resistance which makes many of these fads seem attractive and we can also be consumed by wanting the end result immediately.
The Problem With Being Results Focused
When we are totally consumed with the end result, with losing 10 pounds or making a certain amount of money by a certain time then that can lead to a big problem. Let’s say you want to lose 10 pounds in 60 days and you set out to do so and 60 days later you haven’t necessarily hit your goal, instead let’s say you lose 6 pounds instead of 10, how would you feel?
If you are human like me you can tend to feel a bit defeated, or discouraged or even frustrated that your plan did not work. This discouraged feeling can lead to throwing in the towel, giving up, or switching to some other type of weight loss program.
What about if you hit your goal, what if you lose 10 pounds in 60 days, now what? Many times this can lead to letting you foot off of the gas, we can feel like we have “arrived” and now it is time to relax.
When we are too focused on the result it can be problematic if we have not committed to a long term ritual that will sustain our activity even in the moments when we “miss the mark” or “hit the markl”.
We Cannot Make The Seed Grow
When we are just results focused it is like the farmer planting a seed and thinking that because he chose the perfect location that allows for the perfect amount of light, or because he waters the seed just perfectly, that the seed would sprout up and produce a harvest exactly when and how the farmer wants it to. I know right, that would be ridiculous, but it is how we can treat ourselves and the work we do in different areas of life.
We cannot control the results in our lives but we can commit to being loyal to the ritual and the activity, trusting that the ritual we have carefully selected will eventually turn into a beautiful harvest. And even when we are seeing the fruits of our labor, we stay humble and true to the ritual.
3 Steps To Become a Man of Ritual
- Select – Take some time to think through specific rituals you would like and select a ritual you want to have for each of the Super Six areas of life: health, wealth, relationships, mental, spiritual, adventure. For example, in spiritually maybe you commit to prayer and scripture reading everyday for at least 15 minutes
- Scoreboard – Knowing where you are, where you came from and where you are headed are still very important, so keep score and set goals in each one of the Super Six areas of life. For example, maybe for your health you get your current weight, you select a nutrition plan with a daily calorie intake and a time you want to be at a new weight. (Just be sure to stay true to the ritual when you miss your goal and even when you hit it)
Stamina – This blog suggests you commit to the long haul, we are not disillusioned and believe we can achieve success and significance in all Super Six areas of life overnight. Here is the secret of the great men who achieve amazing results in life; they don’t do it alone. These men have a group of men they are challenged by and accountable to, so should you. Join our 5 Day Accountability Challenge and jumpstart your ritual with other men who are doing the same.
