“…A few days of bad travel, bad sleep, bad food, and bad workouts. The Steel Does Not Care. Neither do I. GET BACK AT IT.”
– Jocko Willink
All or nothing.
There is something special about “all.”
“All” is perfection. It is success. It is mastery.
The streak still running. The New Year’s resolution unbroken. The One Year Bible on track.
Not one sip. Not one puff. Not one look.
All.
All feels so good.
Losing the “all” feels like full failure. The streak is over. The goal is ruined. Disappointment and deflation ensue.
When we lose “all,” we often swing to “nothing.”
“What’s the point?” we think. Might as well give up.
We live out in miniature our own broken windows theory. One crack and it all goes to pot.
All or nothing. Can’t have all? Guess we’ll roll with nothing.
But no pursuit in life will progress with an all-or-nothing mindset.
Progress is made little by little. “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Proverbs 13:11, ESV).
Progress is lost little by little. “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber…” (Proverbs 6:10–11a, ESV).
Little by little. Something instead of nothing. The battle line of progress lies here.
“All or nothing” won’t get you across many finish lines. You won’t fell many trees if you need to drop one with each swing of the axe.* Nobody bats a thousand.
Life is a game of inches.
Former Navy Seal, Jocko Willink, with a picture of a barbell and weights, once posted, “…A few days of bad travel, bad sleep, bad food, and bad workouts. The Steel Does Not Care. Neither do I. GET BACK AT IT.”
This is the way.
A few days of bad attitude and bad interactions. The Friendship Does Not Care. GET BACK AT IT. Keep going! Keep loving!
A few days of bad travel, bad scheduling. The One Year Bible Does Not Care. GET BACK AT IT. Keep reading! Keep learning!
A few days of holiday eating, holiday laziness. Healthy Stewardship Does Not Care. GET BACK AT IT. Keep going! Keep striving!
A few days of regrets and old sin patterns. Your Sanctification Does Not Care. GET BACK AT IT. Keep going! Keep growing!
Little by little.
All or something.
Something!
One small step forward. One little lesson learned. One more prayer. One more dollar saved. One more workout. One more scripture ingested.
Diligence.
“…the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Proverbs 10:4).
“The hand of the diligent will rule…” (Proverbs 12:24).
“…the diligent man will get precious wealth” (Proverbs 12:27).
“…the soul of the diligent is richly supplied” (Proverbs 13:4).
” The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance…” (Proverbs 21:5).
Little by little.
All or something.
Something is better than nothing.
It. Adds. Up.
SO GET BACK AT IT.
And may God richly bless your going.
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