Every venture worth pursuing is going to change you. Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy just to dream about someday and not do something about it. We resist change–and so we settle.
But I don’t want to settle.
The day I realized that, I took out my journal and penned these non-negotiables. They are, in a way, my personal manifesto; my commitments to habitually live with intention and not to be a casualty of disengaged dreaming.
- I won’t settle for mediocrity in discerning what God is doing in and through me. I want to stay sensitive to the fact that I and the people around me are all works in progress, and I want to remain grateful for growth–theirs and mine.
- I won’t settle for deception or manipulation in my relationship with God and with others. It’s too easy to manipulate others to do things that I want them to do. Deception and manipulation are signs of a lack of faith. Trusting God in all circumstances is a far more preferable way to live.
- I won’t settle for complacency in my health and personal growth. My pursuits should never sacrifice my physical health and personal growth, but instead be supportive of them.
- I won’t settle for blindness to the needs of others. Instead, I will strive to always leave others better than I found them.
- I won’t settle for anything less than Jesus. Turning anywhere else to give my life meaning is building castles in the sand. I’d rather build on the Rock.
These have been this unsettler’s personal manifesto for over a year now. They resonate with me and writing them down has helped me remember what’s important to me.
How about you? Are you an unsettler too?
If so, why not write your own manifesto? Then pin it somewhere to remind you to never settle for mediocrity in your life.
Comment below: What’s unsettled non-negotiable commitment would be (or is) in your personal manifesto?