Have you ever started something with all kinds of enthusiasm...
and then discovered that somewhere along the way, it got hard?
I certainly have.
Starting is exciting.
We make the plan. We set the goal. We get excited about what it could become.
Now, I have to admit, getting started has never really been my problem.
I'm usually the person who gets an idea and immediately starts figuring out how to make it happen. Sometimes I probably need someone standing beside me saying, “Kaye... maybe we should think about this for a minute.”
And if someone tells me it can't be done?
Well, that usually makes me want to do it even more.
Rick really does try to slow me down sometimes. Bless him. But after all these years, he also knows that once an idea gets into my head, I'm probably going to at least figure out whether there's a way to make it happen.
But over the years, I've learned that enthusiasm and determination aren't always enough.
Sometimes the real wisdom isn't knowing when to start.
It's knowing when to pause, when to change direction, and when to trust God with the timing.
Robin Sharma talks throughout The Everyday Hero Manifesto about the power of consistency, discipline, and continuing to do the work when no one is watching.
I've learned that lesson over and over again.
You don't have to feel motivated every day.
Sometimes you simply have to show up.
But I've also learned something else:
Showing up doesn't always mean continuing with the original plan.
Sometimes showing up means having the courage to change the plan while remaining faithful to the purpose.
Motivation Gets You Started. Consistency Keeps You Going.
An idea by itself doesn't accomplish very much.
At some point, you have to do the work.
And then you have to do it again tomorrow.
That's the part we don't talk about nearly enough.
We celebrate the person who loses thirty pounds.
And, hey, I can actually use that example now because I've lost thirty pounds myself!
But we don't see all the little choices that happened along the way.
We celebrate the successful business.
We don't see the years someone worried about making payroll.
We see someone who has built a good life.
We don't see what it took to start over after a divorce. I've done that a few times, and I can tell you that starting over isn't nearly as exciting as starting something new.
Sometimes showing up simply means getting out of bed, taking care of what needs to be taken care of, and believing that life can be good again—even when you can't see what that life is going to look like yet.
And then, if you're really blessed...
you find a Rick.
We celebrate the graduate.
We don't see the nights they wanted to quit studying.
That's the thing about success.
We usually see the result. We rarely see the showing up.
We don't see the tears.
The prayers.
The doubts.
The bills.
The mistakes.
The days someone wanted to quit.
Or the mornings when they got up and did what needed to be done anyway.
Success usually looks exciting from the outside.
From the inside, it often looks like doing the next right thing faithfully for a very long time.
I've also learned that having lots of ideas isn't the same as accomplishing them.
Believe me, I can come up with more ideas and projects than I could possibly finish in a lifetime!
The challenge isn't always deciding what we can do.
Sometimes it's deciding what we should do—and what needs to wait.
You Don't Have to Do Everything Today
This is something I have to remind myself of too.
When I have a big goal, I want it done.
Preferably yesterday.
Patience has never exactly been my strongest virtue when I can already see where I want something to go!
But some things simply cannot be rushed.
A child doesn't learn to read in one lesson.
A new employee doesn't become an excellent leader after one training.
A business isn't built in a month.
A relationship isn't strengthened by one conversation.
And we don't become the person God created us to be in one Monday Morning Mindset.
Growth happens little by little.
That's why showing up matters.
We do today's work.
Then tomorrow, we do the next thing.
Over time, all those little things begin to add up.
Don't Let a Bad Day Become a Bad Direction
I think this is where many of us get into trouble.
We miss one day at the gym and decide we've failed.
We overspend and decide we'll never be good with money.
We lose our temper and decide we're terrible parents.
We make a mistake at work and begin questioning whether we're capable.
One mistake doesn't erase all your progress.
Correct it.
Learn from it.
Then show up again tomorrow.
I've made plenty of mistakes in my life.
I've made decisions I would make differently today.
But I've learned something important:
You don't have to get everything right to keep moving in the right direction.
Give yourself enough grace to learn—and enough discipline to try again.
But Make Sure You're Still Going in the Right Direction
There's another side to perseverance that I've had to learn.
Sometimes we become so determined to reach a goal that we stop asking whether the original plan still makes sense.
We tell ourselves:
"I've already invested too much."
"I've already told everyone I'm doing it."
"I've worked too hard to change now."
So we push harder.
And pushing harder is something I know how to do.
But perseverance and stubbornness aren't the same thing.
Sometimes wisdom says:
Pause.
Look around.
Pray.
Listen.
Then decide what the next right step really is.
Changing direction doesn't necessarily mean you were wrong about the destination.
Sometimes you simply discover there's a better road to get there.
Your Challenge for the Week
| Focus | What to Do | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Choose One Thing | Pick one area where you want to make progress and commit to one small action every day this week. | Small actions are easier to sustain. |
| Show Up Anyway | On the day you don't feel like doing it, do something—even if it's smaller than you planned. | Consistency matters more than perfection. |
| Check Your Direction | Ask yourself, “Am I still moving toward the right purpose, or am I simply following the original plan?” | Keeps perseverance from becoming stubbornness. |
Seven days won't transform your entire life.
But seven days can change your direction.
And direction matters.
A Lesson I've Learned
For a long time, I thought perseverance meant you just kept going.
Push harder.
Work longer.
Find another way.
And believe me, I can be pretty determined when I decide something needs to happen!
But experience has taught me that perseverance and stubbornness aren't the same thing.
Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is admit:
“This isn't working the way I planned.”
That doesn't necessarily mean the dream was wrong.
Maybe the timing is wrong.
Maybe the right people aren't in place yet.
Maybe something else needs your attention first.
Or maybe God is simply saying,
“Trust Me. You're not supposed to make this happen right now.”
I'm learning that lesson even now.
There are things I want very badly to accomplish. I can see what they could become, and my natural tendency is to start figuring out how to make them happen.
And once I start figuring...
I'm pretty hard to stop.
But sometimes leadership means taking your hands off something for a season instead of trying to force all the pieces into place.
That can be hard.
It can also bring an incredible sense of peace.
I've learned that changing the plan doesn't mean abandoning the purpose.
Sometimes it means trusting God enough to believe that if the purpose is right, He'll help provide the right people, the right opportunities, and the right timing.
My job is to keep showing up, keep preparing, keep listening—and be willing to change direction when I need to.
That's not quitting.
That's growth.
Final Thought
Whatever you're working toward right now, don't become discouraged because you aren't there yet.
You don't need to finish the whole journey today.
Just take today's step.
But make sure today's step is still taking you where you're supposed to go.
Sometimes the next right step isn't forward.
Sometimes it's a pause.
Sometimes it's a turn.
And sometimes it's setting something down for a season and trusting God enough to pick it back up when the time is right.
Make today's phone call.
Read today's chapter.
Save today's five dollars.
Encourage today's person.
Keep today's promise.
Say today's prayer.
And tomorrow...
Show up again.
Because extraordinary lives aren't usually built through extraordinary moments.
They're built through ordinary people who keep showing up, keep learning, and have enough faith to change direction when God shows them a different path.
Don't quit on the purpose just because you need to change the plan.
References
- Sharma, Robin. The Everyday Hero Manifesto. HarperCollins, 2021.
- Clear, James. Atomic Habits. Avery, 2018.
- Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House, 2006.
- Galatians 6:9.
- Proverbs 16:9.
Remember... life isn't changed by one big decision. It's changed by the little decisions we make every day. Today's small choices become tomorrow's legacy. So choose wisely, love deeply, keep learning, and keep growing. Until next Monday, have a wonderful week... and keep building your legacy, one small choice at a time.