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It's An Active Process

Chelsey Blake • November 21, 2020

There’s nothing passive about the journey to excellence

You’ve probably encountered some form of sonar over the years. Maybe you’ve use a depth finder or fish finder on your fishing trips, or maybe you’ve seen a sonar on a ship. Did you know that there are both active and passive sonar? Passive sonar involves simply “listening” for an object, however, active sonar sends signals out and also receives signals back. This offers a more accurate picture of what is coming. 




Your journey towards excellence is like active sonar. It takes time and effort to locate what is around you in your pursuit of finding your unique God-given design. As you ping off an object several times you begin to see more clearly what that object is. Is it an obstacle that you need to avoid on your way to excellence, or is it something that can be utilized to assist you towards your goal?


Military Bracketing is another example of ways to assess progress. It involves firing off multiple shots to find your baseline and then having a clearer idea of where to pivot your efforts. Similarly, when used as a navigation method, sonar allows you to bypass harmful or unhelpful objects to efficiently maintain progress even when you can’t see the direction you’re headed.


The Bible speaks of how we currently see things with limited vision, but one day we will see things clearly (1 Corinthians 13:12). On your journey to excellence, you won’t see the direct path, but once you have uncovered your unique God-given design, you’ll be able to see the path toward your goal when you look back. It takes action to reach your goals. In Philippians 2:12-13 the author reminds his readers that they must keep pursuing their goals and reinforce their efforts. For you this might mean evaluating your efforts in pursuit of excellence and pivoting to better reach that goal. 


ACTION STEP


  • Self-evaluate your journey of excellence. Are you headed in the right direction or do you need to pivot and double down your efforts?
  • Take a few minutes to read this article about the Journey of Desire by John Eldredge: https://delanasworld.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/journey-of-desire/
  • Consider reading John’s book in its entirety


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