The fork you take could determine your future

A dense fog descends upon the fork in the road. Thick storm clouds cover the moon and stars, darkening the diverging paths before you. The left branch of past failures beckons you, and shouts reminders of shortcomings into your soul, pulling you with an unrelenting force.

Equally well, you understand that the right path, the history of God’s faithfulness, whispers memories of joyful triumphs.

Which fork in the road do you take this time?

If you’re like I used to be, the left won — every time.

But this morning, when I strained with everything in me on pushup number 48, I chose to remember the 54 I did yesterday. I also recalled the previous 65 consecutive days hitting my number without fail.

I took a deep breath and pushed harder.

Can you imagine your life if you trained your mind to recall memories of past successes when encountering daunting challenges?

You can make that choice.

Redefine failure

What’s even more life-changing is if you redefine your perception of failure. Thomas Edison didn’t fail 10,000 times to create the lightbulb; he discovered thousands of ways that didn’t work, and each attempt taught him something valuable.

Failure isn’t the same as defeat. Failure isn’t the absence of success.

Muhammad Ali, widely considered the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, lost five bouts in his professional career.

Failure is getting knocked down and staying down.

You didn’t fail when…

…your boss was disappointed with your project. God gifted you another opportunity to learn more skills for a better effort next time.

…when Covid-19 forced you to close your business. You have a chance to discover new ventures that are recession-proof.

…your wife filed divorce papers. You can choose to forgive, repent (if necessary), and trust in God for new beginnings.

Fruit grows when the branches are pruned.

Pruning hurts.

Forget about the forks in the road

Decide now that there are no forks in the road. You no longer have failures to torment you. You only have successes and challenges that teach, train, and shape you into a stronger person.

Case in point — last year I wanted to quit four times when learning how to format my Kindle eBook. I went to bed discouraged and almost slept late the next morning drowning in self-pity.

But God reminded me that struggles were the resistance required to grow stronger.

Let’s get stronger together. Remember God’s faithfulness and choose the right fork.

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