I’m sure like me you have heard
players on a basketball court or football field yell passionately at a teammate
who is messing up. They yell out, “Man,
put your heart into it!” or “You’re
acting like you don’t have heart!” In essence, the individual is being told that
they don’t have what it takes to do what needs to be done. Plain and simple, it appears that the player
lacks the ability to produce in their position at a level that is necessary for
the team to win.
As
I was preparing for a meeting one morning, this particular phrase rang in my
spirit: Do I have H.E.A.R.T.? Do I have what it takes to produce in the
position that I have been assigned at the level that will put the team in a
position to win? Let me tell you, I did
not just limit this word “team” to my professional/business life. My mind was given the freedom to ask the
question, “Do I have H.E.A.R.T. in
reference to every team assignment?”
There’s the husband/wife team, the family team, the church team, the friend
team, etc. just to name a few (Believe me, there are more!). Now I’m sure you can imagine how deep this
one question penetrated my soul. It was
time for some self-inspection.
By
now you may have realized that I am not speaking about the muscle in the middle
of our chests that rhythmically pumps blood throughout our bodies, keeping us
alive. You see, though all of us have a
heart, we don’t all have H.E.A.R.T Let
me explain…
Historically
speaking, the heart was considered to be the “seat of the soul.” Our soul is comprised of three entities: (1) our MIND or the way we think; (2) our
EMOTIONS or the way we feel; and (3) our WILL or the decisions and choices we
make. Therefore, our thinking patterns
(mind) and the way we feel about people, situations, and circumstances
(emotions) influence the decisions (will) we make, which ultimately determines
the life we live.
The
heart is also symbolic of the “center and core of a thing.” For example, hearts of romaine are the
centers of romaine lettuce. Likewise, it
can be deduced that your heart is the center or core of who you are.
With
all of the above in mind, just as I had to take time for personal reflection
that morning, I extend to you the same opportunity. Do You Have H.E.A.R.T.?
H = HOPE
American
Heritage Dictionary defines hope as “a wish or desire for something with
expectation of its fulfillment.”
Hope is very necessary because faith is dependent upon the presence of
hope (Hebrews 11:1); however, just having hope or a desire is not enough. As an individual once stated, “Hope is not a
plan.” Therefore, we need more than just
hope. We need to have an…
E = Expectation
Remember
the definition of hope is “a wish or desire for
something with expectation of its fulfillment” {emphasis}. Therefore, we
all should have an expectation that our hope or desires will be fulfilled. This expectation can be established through
the devising of a plan or an outline that will layout how our hope (desires)
can become a reality. One very familiar
acronym for plan is…
P =
Proactively
L = Look to
A = Act
N = NOW!
In layman’s
terms, we should proactively look at what must be accomplished and then what
goals should be set – short-term and long-term – that can ensure that our hope
(desires) will be a reality in our lives.
The
building of a home does not begin without a plan or blueprint (expectation) of
the home. Yet unfortunately, often times
we attempt to build something without writing the vision. As my husband and business partner Al often
says, “You must inspect what you expect.”
Therefore, without a written plan, it is difficult to expect or
determine whether you are on track or not.
Hold up. Wait a minute. My apologies, I moved ahead of myself,
because we need to take…
A = Action
Most of us
operate as if just having a plan or outline is enough. Wrong! We must apply action (discipline) to the plan
for our desires to become a reality.
Having a cake recipe on a piece of paper is just a plan until we get all
of the ingredients out and begin working the recipe so the desire of eating a
delicious cake can become a reality to our taste buds. Therefore, in order for a plan to be
successful, it must jump from the pages into live performance and that is the
responsibility of the builder – YOU! No
one is going to believe in your vision until you believe in your own vision
enough to put it in to action yourself.
I’ve heard
some great ideas with great potential and that is exactly where they remained –
in the state of potentiality never being given the opportunity of becoming a
reality. Why? Unfortunately, some visionaries have enough
vision to perform the lip service and not enough impetus to take the action
(discipline) necessary for the manifestation of the plan.
It’s time
to start putting our action where our mouth is; but, we must understand that
sometimes thing’s don’t always go as planned.
There are times our actions don’t produce the results we expected, at
least not as quickly as we would like.
When this happens, we must equip ourselves with what I call the “twins
of H.E.A.R.T.”:
R =
Resilience and
T =
Tenacity
Resilience is the ability to “bounce back into shape.” Regardless of how many times we make unwise
choices or how many hindrances and obstacles come into our paths, resilience equips us with the capacity
to get back up and keep acting on the plan we have established to accomplish
our goals. Resilience also provides us with the wisdom to know when our plans
might need to be adjusted so that our expectations can be reached. One definition of insanity is “doing the same
things over and over again while expecting different results.” If our plans are not yielding the results we
desire, maybe it’s time to tweak our plans and make some adjustments. However, we must never give up! This leads us to tenacity.
Most
of us have heard the terminology of “bulldog
tenacity.” When a bulldog gets its
teeth into something, it holds on for dear life. Well, that is exactly what is required for us
to have H.E.A.R.T. NEVER
EVER GIVE UP! Once we have a hope
(desire) within, an expectation (plan), and have applied action so the desire
may become a reality, we must be fortified within that we will be resilient and tenacious – regardless!
Remember, anything worth having is worth the fight.
Now, I ask you the question again, “Do
you have H.E.A.R.T.?” Remember,
this is something no one can give to
you. It’s all in you!
© 2011 Julianne Pearson
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