The not-so-simple Secret To Knowing What To Do When!
Even Jesus had to answer these age-old questions.
"What should I do?" & "When should I do it?"
In coaching, we often focus on the first question. We help people discern a goal and then make SMART goals to move toward that goal.
BUT, what if we are missing a key element?
TIMING!
Imagine Jesus as a young adult. Let's say He is 23 and He is fully God and fully man. He is capable of miracles. He knows his mission is to bring the kingdom of God to mankind - to change the way people relate to God from His time forward.
What a mission?!
I would have been anxious to get going!
I would have jumped the gun!
He was sure of His calling. He had an important destiny. He waited on His Father for the right timing.
I often rush....I want to move things forward so badly that I often pre-empt the perfect timing of God. Ahhh, to know His voice and discern His will, not just in the destination but in the timing!
"Jesus said to his brothers, “The right time for me has not yet come, but any time is right for you." John 7:6
Was Jesus' mission not important, or needed, when He was 23?
Did He not know what His destiny was meant to be?
We get a clue of how to move forward later in John 7 where Jesus says,
"Stop judging by the way things look, but judge by what is really right.” John 7:24
It may have looked like it was "right" for Jesus to do things a certain way, but He knew the Father's way and the Father's timing were what was needed most.
I have so many ideas of what I want to do next. I have a nearly completed book on dating that has been on pause for a long time. I want to start a podcast and/or book about pendulums. I am learning about Saboteurs in Positive Intelligence and can see how this concept could be used in faith-based coaching. Maybe that is a next curriculum to focus on...
This list could go on.
The question for me is not so much what I could do, but what I should do. And then beyond that, when should I do it?
One of the best coaching questions anyone ever asked me came from one of our Bridges Coaching training facilitators, April Lonneville, who asked me, "What's the rush?"
Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed that I am underproducing or not being as effective as I think I could, I remind myself of that question. It helps me slow my thoughts and be more intentional about my choices.
I don't want to be moving out of what I think is right, but out of divine direction.
John 7:16 says, "Jesus answered, “The things I teach are not my own, but they come from him who sent me."
I want to seep myself in God's word and His ways and learn more and more to discern what He has for me AND WHEN!
Can I challenge you as coaches to not only help people discern what to do but also when to do it?
Is 55: 10-11
Rain and snow fall from the sky and don’t return without watering the ground.
They cause the plants to sprout and grow, making seeds for the farmer and bread for the people.
The same thing is true of the words I speak. They will not return to me empty.
They make the things happen that I want to happen, and they succeed in doing what I send them to do.
You can trust God to help you discern the What and the When as you move forward! He has great plans for us all!
To learn more about your life purpose check out our Life On Purpose Personal Retreat.
To understand what's next or when to do it - work with one of our Associate Coaches.