Beat Cancer Daily: A Surf Lesson

Chris WarkBy Chris Wark5 Minutes

Excerpt from Beat Cancer Daily: 365 Days of Inspiration, Encouragement, and Action Steps to Survive and Thrive by Chris Wark

Day 192

A Surf Lesson

One summer, while on vacation, I paid for a private surf lesson. After multiple spectacular wipeouts, my instructor said something profound.

He said, “Surfing is like life. Don’t look back and don’t look down. Focus on where you want to go. If you look back, you will lose your balance and fall off. If you look down at your feet, you will lose your balance and fall off. Keep your head up. Pick a point on the shore and look at where you want the board to go. That’s how you keep your balance and control the direction of the board.” And it worked!

When we look back and focus on the past, we have a tendency to either dwell on our mistakes or wish things were the way they used to be. When we look down at our feet, at our present situation, we tend to get discouraged and depressed and we get stuck.

But when you look ahead and focus on where you want to be, your attitude, outlook, and posture come into alignment. And the things in your life that will help you get there and the things that are not useful are both illuminated.

Don’t look back at where you’ve been. Don’t look down at where you are. Focus on where you want to be. Surf’s up!


Day 185

The Wilderness Has a Purpose

God didn’t rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to take them into the desert to die. His intention was to take them to a better place, the Promised Land. But they had to cross the wilderness to get there.

During the journey, the Israelites grumbled and complained, doubted, and disobeyed God. They wanted to go back to their life of slavery in Egypt. So God delayed his promise and let them wander in circles in the desert until the entire unbelieving generation of adults had died off. A journey that should have only taken about 11 days on foot lasted 40 years because of their bad attitudes, bad behavior, and unbelief!28

You may feel like you are in the wilderness right now, wondering why God brought you here. The purpose of the wilderness is to teach you to trust your Heavenly Father completely, to change you, to toughen you up, to prepare you for a new season of life that is better than you can imagine.

Unbelief can delay God’s promises in your life and keep you wandering in circles. So exercise your faith and choose to believe that God is leading you through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Surrender, don’t complain, maintain a heart of gratitude, obey, and trust Him completely today.


Day 203

Motivation Versus Determination

The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people in not motivation. Motivation is unpredictable and unreliable. It’s easy to take action when you’ve started something new and exciting. But when the excitement wears off, the motivation often goes with it. And then lack of motivation becomes an excuse for inaction or for not making good choices.

What keeps people going when things get difficult and motivation fades is determination—the force of will inside you that cannot be stopped, no matter what comes against you.

Motivation depends on how you feel in the moment. Determination transcends your feelings and your emotional state. Determination is doing what you know needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not, because you know the end result will be worth the effort and the sacrifice.

Determination is a decision to keep learning, keep doing, keep going, and keep growing until you get what you are after. (This doesn’t just apply to health.)

Be determined to make decision today and every day that move you forward and get you one day closer to where you want to be. #healthyisland

Footnotes

28 You’ll find this story in the books of Exodus and Numbers.

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