“STOP watering things that were never meant to grow in your life. Water what works, what’s good, what’s right. Stop playing around with those dead bones and stuff you can’t fix, it’s over…leave it alone! You’re coming into a season of greatness. If you water what’s alive and divine, you will see harvest like you’ve never seen before. Stop wasting water on dead issues, dead relationships, dead people, a dead past. No matter how much you water concrete, you can’t grow a garden.” –T.D. Jakes
The above speaks to the paradox of inherent intrigues of life; the elation, the fear, the anxiety, and the unknown, that have led most people to latch on to the ‘dead bones,” as T.D. Jakes would characterize it. However, people should not conflate dead bones and natural occurrences that are meant to test and strengthen ones’ character and bolster experiences. For instance, some people are called to be in certain professionals. It is their calling and they are perfectly suited for such positions. So, everything that comes with the profession, the good, bad, and the ugly, should not be seen as “watering the concrete.”
Nevertheless, oftentimes, people go through troubled times because our desires may be difficult or impossible to attain no matter how hard we tried. People may be having problems at work, in relationships, business, or being accepted for who they are. These problems may metamorphosed into hardship or inability to achieve intermittent goals in the face of undesirable conditions, buttressing the fact that life is full of curves and detours that require sustained navigation—resilience.
Thus, the road to greatness is not without bumps, curves, failures, and disappointments. Each of these has its uniqueness and characteristics, but can be overcome with thoughtful and constructive actions. There are lessons to be learned and positive adjustments to be made in every circumstance to advance to the next level of life.
In the mist of bumps, curves, failures, and disappointments along the road, people should replace discouragement, hopelessness, self-guilt, and self-pity with courage, hope, ambitious goals, competitiveness, the will to succeed, determination to be the best, and sustained hard work to succeed or achieve ambitious goals. It is advisable to turn the challenges into opportunities to do great things in the future, instead of being swallowed in self-pity and hopelessness. Robert Fritz once said, “If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.”
Therefore, we must consistently pursue our goals earnestly and we must not settle for the clouds while we can reach for the stars. In everything we do, we must do it for God. God wants His children to be the best no matter the circumstances. 1 Thessalonia 5:18 says, “In all things, we must rejoice and give thanks to God.”
But in pursuit of our goals, we must not let our guard down. By all means, people should not let their joy or happiness depend on someone else or a group. When you allow it, you have given the person or a group enormous power over you that may be difficult to wrestle back. You will be controlled and consumed with trying to please the person(s), situation, or the group for acceptance. Thus, you have placed yourself in a weaker position where you can be practically and easily manipulated and be taken advantage of.
Regardless of your goal in life, do not be desperate or give the appearance of desperation because it is a sign of weakness and very little could be accomplished without a constructive and deliberate plan. Do not force issues and consistently be measured in your reaction and utterances to avoid saying “I’m sorry,” though saying it may be a sign of strength; it may be misconstrued as weakness.
In certain job environment, people may be forced to stay too long because of dependence on the paycheck. Most often, people will endure the mistreatment in order to earn income to pay bills. People in this situation will not have another option other to remain in the present job. If it is in a relationship, do not heap too much expectations for fear of ugly disappointment…
In some cases and in certain situations, it is advisable to maintain a critical distance to avoid strong attachment and dependence mentality that may prove to be detrimental down the road. However, if you are already attached to a situation, begin the detachment process which may be difficult for some people and easier for others. How well one handles the detachment process depends on some factors: level of attachment, degree of one’s self worth, self-esteem, as well as one’s mental capacity and disposition. People who feel adequate in themselves handle detachment process better than others.
In other words, people should stop being angry at situations and take steps to address the maladies. It is not enough to talk and complain about what is happening around you while folding your arms for others to do the job for you. So, “Stop watering things that were never meant to grow in your life. Water what works, what’s good, what’s right.”