Convenience or Conviction?

My question to you today is an important one!  Convenience or conviction – what are your choices being led by?  

This is an essential question if you are seeking to go somewhere in life you’ve never been.  If you want exactly the same thing you have now, by all means feel free to live by convenience – do what’s easy and habitual because it will continue to give you more of what you have now.  This is totally fine for some people, but I am guessing that’s not true for you.  I’m guessing that, like me, you want something more.

To have something different we need to do something different.  We must have conviction for our goals and that conviction must show up in our day-to-day choices.  If you want to know which you are being led by, look at your choices.  Look back each day on the major choices as they relate to your goal and ask yourself – was this choice a convenience choice or did it show conviction for my goals? 

Conviction is much more difficult because it is outside the norm, outside the natural groove.  Conviction cuts a new course to a different outcome that we are seeking to create.  Getting to these new outcomes requires looking at our choices and asking ourselves whether we are allowing those little excuses come in.  When we say we want greater wellness, but when it comes time to go to the gym “it’s too cold,” “I’m too tired,” or “it’s too early,” we need to look at this question.  Do we tell ourselves that we can’t take that brisk walk because our elbow hurts!?!  We have all been there! 

Excuses lead us down the path to convenience.  Conviction says, “I committed to this goal, what can I do?  How can I do as much of what I set out to do as possible?”  Conviction says, “I planned to walk for 60 minutes but I have time for only 20 minutes, I will do that.”  This choice builds momentum, shows conviction, and our minds remember that.  Next time the choice goes a little more smoothly.  If we defer the convicted choice, it is not easier next time – it puts another brick in the wall of resistance.

We take our choices too lightly.  I was recently in a conversation with a friend where a business came up, a business that has a reputation for perpetuating discrimination.  I personally choose not to give my resources toward entities that actively seek to create a world I don’t believe in.  My friend says “Yes, I don’t like that but their food is so good.”  From his perspective, the food tastes good, so the principle doesn’t matter. 

But this is the very moment of choice that does matter!  Do I go for convenience or do I say I stand for something, and even if it is inconvenient for me, I am going to continue to stand for it?  The second option is the only option if you want to go somewhere you’ve never been – somewhere bigger, somewhere greater, helping more people and changing the world in positive ways.  To go there, you will need to ask yourself this question.  Does my life reflect convenience or conviction?

I support you in this.  It is a challenge – a worthwhile challenge.  There are lots of ways I could make my life “easier.”  But I don’t want my life to be easier, I want my life to stand for something.  It’s worth it to me.

I ask you to share this – share this with someone who wants to live by conviction and needs that reminder that it matters!  We need more people with conviction!  We have enough people in this world who are living by convenience.  I ask you to join me in this endeavor to stand for something great.