What happens if you get 5% better each year? We’re an impatient species so it’s important to remind ourselves of the power of continued progress over time.
5% better each year means that after 30 years you’ll be 4.3 times better.
10% better each year? You’ll be 17.4 times better.
What if you could reduce your weaknesses and vulnerability by 5% each year? After 30 years you would be 5x less vulnerable. 10% reduction each year would mean you would be 25x less vulnerable.
Consistency matters immensely. This is a key part of playing the long game. Especially when you can’t know precisely how long it is.
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A friend is looking forward to retirement because of his increasing frustration with his job situation. “Only 132 more Mondays, Glenn! I can endure it.”
Years ago, I heard a men’s speaker describing how precious Saturdays are with his boys. He calculated how many Saturdays he had left until his youngest son turned 18. He bought that many marbles and put them in a big jar in his bedroom. Each Saturday night he would take out a marble and throw it in the trash. The shrinking jar of marbles became a powerful visual reminder of where to put his energy and attention.
Another friend of mine has been sober for over a decade. He can tell you the years, months, and days since his last drink. He has a calendar near his desk and every night he puts a red X through the day. “I keep the chain going.” He likes the advice of long-distance hikers: Never quit on a bad day.
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
Numbering is important. Numbering gives us perspective. Numbering helps us live better.
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There are times when numbering does not help. When the drill sergeant barks, “Do pushups until I get tired” it will not help to count. When you’re sitting with your elderly loved one who no longer recognizes you because of advanced dementia, it will not help to count. When you need to defeat the temptation to compare your life to another, counting will not help. When you’re in a situation with no possible way to see the end, the only counting which matters is whatever counting helps you get to the next day. Or the next hour.
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Everyone you know is counting things, marking events and times – some excellent, some bitter, some bittersweet. Remembering this helps us be generous and gracious with others.
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One of the encouraging themes in the Bible is that God sees us. He knows all our counting, from the number of hairs on our heads, to the days of our suffering in exile, to the days until we meet someone again, to the great Day of restoring all things. This helps us trust God, even when our counting feels like a burden.
