Taking Care of "Disness"!
A few weeks ago my family converged in Orlando to celebrate my daughter, Ashleigh and her husband, Jason for their 30th birthdays. Yep, you’re right. I was a child bride J .Ashleigh has been going to Disney World since she was three years old and my sisters and I have been going to Disney World since it was built! The first moment of magic hit me as soon as we got to the main entrance. Even at 52 that sight can still reach the kid in me! And then the iconic Main Street storefronts leading to Cinderella’s Castle was a photo op I just couldn’t pass up. We were fortunate to be there after most of the crowds had returned to school but a small crowd at a Disney park is still a crowd.
There’s much to love about “Disness” (my word for how Disney conducts business). One of the things I love the most is how they move people. As you walk through the park you are free to mill around the common areas- look to your heart’s content-meander-take it in- let your imagination run wild. But when you are ready to go on a ride you are directed and methodically funneled to your destination.
How I wish I could turn my brain over to Disney to manage for a while!
As a creative person my mind can mill, meander and run wild. Ideas can come flooding in like the masses through the main gate milling around in my head. The challenge comes when it’s time to get to my creative destination.
One of the reasons I love being on staff at 12Stone is that we have a process called the MAP process. It stands for Ministry Action Plan. It serves as map to help us get to our destination. Each staff member completes one for several seasons during the year. In this last iteration I declared two words that would be my goal: Focused Momentum. Focus is what I can affect. Momentum is what I can advance.
Focus: Often I find myself thinking about things that I don’t have the ability or opportunity to do or change. The gift of “what if” that God gave me to create can keep me swirling in possibilities. Satan wants to keep me scattered because it keeps me from accomplishing anything. Don’t get me wrong, I need the “what if” time but at some point I have to take it down the path. Try to imagine if you only visited the common areas at Disney but never went on a ride. If you didn’t know any better you would think it was fun but never experience the fullness of all you could enjoy.
I love this Winston Churchill quote: “You will never reach your destination if you stop to throw stones at every dog that barks.” The truly brilliant people know how to focus. I’m working on it. I’m learning to pick a ride and take it to the end.
Momentum: From the minute we declared a ride (Pirates of the Caribbean is ALWAYS first) we walked down the roped walkway at a quicker pace than when we were meandering. With each step we were getting closer to Yo-ho, Yo-ho a pirate’s life for me! I don’t know why but this is where in my life and life projects I get hung up-taking it to the end. I need goals. I need deadlines. The deadline looming over me right now is a writer’s workshop I am attending in October in Chicago. It won’t be good enough for me to walk in with ideas. I don’t have time to throw stones at dogs. So, I’m setting a goal of writing every day. I hear from the experts that is the key to gaining momentum. I’ll let you know!
You may not be a creative person, but everybody has something that God wants you to affect and advance. What is yours? How are you going after it? If you could pick two words to guide you in your next season or endeavor, what would they be?