I was NOT a good swimmer when I first began lifeguard training. I barely passed the swimming requirement to even get into the class.
Our instructor was very aware of this, and she knew we all needed to build swimming proficiency. Each time we gathered for class, we split our time between classroom instruction and water skills. Whenever we got in the water, our first task was to swim 25 lengths of the pool, about 500 yards.
If we met for class two or three times a week, this consistency helped build the right kind of muscle, develop comfort in the water, and improve technique. Before long, I got much better at swimming. Instead of just barely getting from wall to wall, my strokes began generating the power needed to propel myself through the water, rather than merely dragging myself through it. I wasn’t going to win any awards, but 500 yards stopped being an intimidating thing, and I grew in confidence that I could handle more than I thought I could.
The key to nurturing and developing a nascent talent is to continue nurturing and developing it. Consistency pays off. Sometimes building muscle is part of it, but more often it’s a repeated demonstration to yourself that things either 1. are, in fact, achievable, or 2. aren’t as impossible as you once thought. You have to train your mind to say “yes, I can wade into uncomfortable territory and come out of it stronger.”
You can apply this lens to both Christian and secular challenges:
- Repeatedly venturing outside your comfort zone helps you become comfortable being uncomfortable.
- Overcoming an intimidating obstacle means the next obstacle has to be bigger if it wants to generate the same level of fear in you.
- Being faithful in the little things trains you to be faithful in the big things; if you can’t handle small responsibilities, why should you be trusted with big ones? Showing yourself worthy of the strengths and abilities God gives you for the sake of performing small tasks demonstrates you can handle greater responsibility.
- Trusting in and relying on God during difficult times helps you trust in and rely on Him more deeply all the time.
Showing up and being consistent is important. Starting something difficult means you begin chipping away at it; if you keep at it, you’ll eventually do things you didn’t think were possible. On the other hand, looking at something difficult and deciding not to even try means your fight with it is over before it begins.
Will you rise to the challenge? Demonstrate consistency. It starts with showing up.