Intrinsic Growth

“What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Matthew 16:26 NLT) 

There was a time when I was mostly sedentary. I sat most of the day, avoiding exertion as much as possible. I could not run even half a mile without feeling like I might faint. I admired those who were active and strong, but I wasn’t sure how I could be like them. Then someone told me about a program called Couch to 5k-- which trains people who spend most of their day sitting on the couch to running 5 kilometers. Their system is simple: you walk a few minutes, then run a few minutes. Each day you spend more time running and less time walking. Eventually, you learn to run continuously until you can finish a 5 km distance. This taught me a great lesson: incremental changes and persistence can get me from where I am to where I want to be. These days, I am training for a marathon--26.2 miles/42 km. The distance is far, but I know that if I spend more time running and less time sitting, I will eventually get there.

There are many, many areas in my life where I am far from where I want to be. I will just give one example here to clarify my point: I would like to be more focused on my intrinsic growth than on extrinsic events in my life. Right now, I spend the majority of each day focused on what is happening around me. I can sense the importance of interior development, but just like the majority of people, I get absorbed in worldly distractions.  The distance feels insurmountable right now, but I know I can make it. I just have to make incremental changes--spending a few extra moments every day focusing on my soul, and a few less on everything else.