Finishing StrongSample

Socrates once said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” I like to say it this way, “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old you, but on building the new you.”

Are you building the new you or fighting the old you?

There is a story that I have shared with my children since they were young: 

"For many generations a story has been passed down about an old Indian Chief who sat down with his two grandkids at the fire. As the embers filled the night air, the old Chief began to speak, “I want to tell you a story about the two wolves. In life, every man, woman, and child will deal with these two wolves. They will wage a war inside of you. One of them is the Good Wolf and the other is the Bad Wolf.”

Bothered by this tale, one of his grandbabies interrupted his story to ask, “But, grandfather, which wolf wins?”

Slowly the wise and seasoned grandfather responded, “It is a good question that you ask… whichever one you feed is the one that will win.”

As David fled from King Saul, there must have been a battle in his mind. The fact is that most physical battles are won or lost in the mind. Luckily for David, his connection with God was his secret weapon. Despite Saul’s many advances, David is unscathed both physically and mentally. But his journey through difficulty produced a toughness that could not be faked. 

The toughness required in football was always NEXT-LEVEL, and I’m not even talking about physical toughness.

It's hard. The old Indian Chief’s story is true. In life, you will have the Bad Wolf inside your head constantly reminding you who you were, where you messed up, and how you should just quit and give up. But my desire for you and my challenge to anyone who reads this is to grow in your connection with the Good Wolf so that you feed the great parts of yourself. 

God created you for greatness! You were fearfully and wonderfully made! Growing in your connection with God will enable you to grow your confidence in what He says about you. You were made by a perfect creator and with that, you were made perfect in His image. Your past, present, and future self has already been forgiven. Don’t let the ‘Bad Wolf’ trick you into thinking you are something you are not. 

What are the great parts in you? What does God say about you? 

Remember, “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old you, but on building the new you.”