Make a Massive Impact With One Small Shift
What will today bring forth vs. What will I bring forth today?
Which one do you choose to focus on?
What will today bring forth?
Call it the Universe, fate, or just the decisions of other people, but things will happen each day that we have little to no control over.
The day brings forth things and then we respond and react.
Opportunities present, obstacles pop up, and people are people. Then, we have to react.
We have very little control over what the day brings forth. We can schedule and plan and have an idea about how the outline of the day may go based on past experiences. But we can never fully anticipate what is coming our way each day.
The angry customer, the frustrated parent, the unanticipated problems that our children, co-workers, or employees will bring with them, and in turn, bring to us.
Road work at the wrong time of the day, our favorite coffee joint being closed unexpectedly, or forgetting our lunch at home and having to piece together a meal on the go.
Some of these happen by choice and some of them happen by chance. We play a role in some and in others, we are completely in the dark until they happen. But when we get out of the warmth and comfort of our beds each day, we don’t know what the day will bring forth.
“What will today bring forth?” is a question we cannot fully answer. It gives us little option and requires us to wait and see. We can treat this question with positivity and anticipation and, if we choose, be excited about the uncertainty, but the choice for us ends there.
The day will choose what the day brings forth, and then we must deal with it.
What will I bring forth today?
That’s where the magic happens.
This one we can answer before we even get out of bed, and we can answer it fully, and powerfully, and with great confidence.
We can decide in advance, at least decide in advance to try, to respond to the day in a way that is positive, productive, and in line with who we are and what we believe.
“What will I bring forth today?” asks how or who we will choose to impact.
It asks us to use our gifts in a way that is edifying, useful, and meaningful.
Answering this question puts us, as Seth Godin says, “on the hook”.
We are responsible for something and to someone. We have a choice in what we will bring forth today.
Anger? Patience? An article? A song? Love? Hate? Kindness? Humor?
How will the world know we were here? What did we produce, share, or do that mattered?
Let me be clear. If you’ve read me before you know how I feel about the fine line between 10x-ing your life and simply focusing on living into the gifts we’ve been given without trying to max out on everything.
This is not about producing a masterpiece, sharing your rad life, or “mattering” in a way that is measured by our “followers” or “friends”.
This is about choosing what we will bring forth today, rather than waiting around to see what the day will bring forth, or being angry when it doesn’t bring forth what we’d hoped for. It’s about showing up and being accountable.
What will today bring forth? It’s out of our control. The day shows up regardless of how we feel, or if we are ready, and cares not what we want.
What will I bring forth today? Totally in our control. We show up regardless of how we feel. We show up ready. We care, we are accountable, we are gladly on the hook.
Choose one.
I’m pulling for you,
Bryan
