Be Prepared
When you watch enough Disney movies, you'll notice that most inevitably feature a "villain song". Sometimes this song is more lighthearted, like when Le Fou sings "Gaston" to cheer up his friend. Other songs are about the villain deceiving the protagonist, like Ursula's "Poor, Unfortunate, Souls", Kaa's "Trust in Me", or Mother Gothel's "Mother Knows Best". Come to think of it, there's even the rather dark and disturbing song "Hellfire" sung by Frollo which is...well, different. Then, of course, there's the epitome of Disney villain songs (in my opinion), one that cuts to the chase and explain the villain's plot: "Be Prepared" from The Lion King. In "Be Prepared", Scar outlines his plan to kill Mufasa and Simba to the hyenas and enlists their help. As the song suggests, he's telling them to be prepared for what's to come: a coup that will make him king.
While Scar is the exact opposite of a role model, he apparently has the same motto as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: Be Prepared. Villainous musical number aside, there truly is a value to being prepared - one that we only fully realize that value of when we're not prepared.
If one isn't away of why being prepared is imperative, one can turn to Benjamin Franklin. One of Franklin's most well-known maxims is "by failing to prepare you are preparing to fail". Whether we're about to take a test, deliver a presentation, go on a trip, or anything else in between, we are always better off being prepared and planning ahead. If we don't take the time to study for that test, rehearse our talking points, or map out our trip, we're setting ourselves up to fail that test, deliver a less-than-stellar presentation, or go on a disorganized trip. And by the end, we often find ourselves lamenting that we wish we had done more in advanced. Sadly, the time we didn't spend preparing is a sunk cost at that point.
A common response to failing to prepare is saying "I'll just wing it" or even claiming that one does better when one doesn't prepare. There are admittedly times in life where we do have to wing it and improvise -- even when we've spent time preparing for what we're going to do. Life has a away of throwing curve balls at us that force us to improvise and adjust to our situation. In those instances, we may not be able to prepare for what life throws our way, but what we can do is prepare for how we'll respond and handle ourselves (to an extent).
Admittedly, there have been times I've gone on trips by myself where I've had to adjust my itinerary because I wasn't feeling well or came across something that I really wanted to do. I've also found myself in the middle of a presentation where I've had to improvise or add something in to help with the overall flow. In that sense, we can leverage improvisation to our benefit. However, constantly relying on improvisation may work in the short-term, but it isn't a long-term strategy. Improvisation leaves us constantly thinking and on our feet, which can be a lot more stressful than simply taking time to prepare.
Another way we can put preparation in perspective is to think of times when we've been dependent upon someone else's preparation. When I was in college, I remember a professor saying that he once walked out of a training because the trainer wasn't prepared. Some fellow attendees walked out with him. I couldn't imagine going to class to a conference...only for the teacher or speaker to stand up front and say that they weren't ready or prepared. That wouldn't exactly inspire confidence in the topic they are covering. In that sense, we don't want others to waste our time because they weren't prepared. Likewise, we don't want to waste others' time because we weren't prepared.
When it comes to preparing, past failures have a way of helping us prepare. This year, I've found myself relying on mistakes I've made in year's past to help me out this year. I've been more prepared this year because I wasn't prepared in past years. Preparation also has a way of building up our confidence about what we're doing and talking about, putting our minds at ease.
This summer, I read about the lives of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the trials that they endured over the course of their lives. When there were (approximately) teenagers, they were forced into captivity by the Babylonians and instructed to live as they did, down to the ways that they ate. While captivity isn't something that you can prepare for, Daniel was prepared for how he would respond. Daniel resolved not to defile himself and compromise his relationship with God in the process (Daniel 1:8) and through that, found a workaround to it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego followed suit with him.
While resolving to not eat certain foods may sound trivial, the resolve that Daniel and his friends had in captivity prepared them for larger trials they would face in their lives, trials that would be a matter of life or death. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced being thrown in a fiery furnace because they refused to compromise their faith in God and worship a false idol. They were able to face the fire (literally) because their faith in God was strong and they were prepared to face that fire. God delivered them from the fiery furnace. Likewise, Daniel faced being thrown into the lion's den because he refused to compromise his faith in God and worship the king. Likewise, Daniel's strong faith in God and the "lions" he had previously faced prepared him for the lion's den. God delivered him from the lion's den, too.
Because Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not willing to compromise their faith and relationship with God over what they ate, they were prepared not to compromise their faith and relationship with God when their lives were at stake. God may not always deliver us from the "fiery furnaces" or "lions dens" in our lives, but even if He doesn't, our strength and confidence can be rooted in our faith and trust in Him. We can't wait for trials to occur in our lives for us to be prepared; if we wait for those trials to occur to make our stand, we will be too late. Conversely, we have to reap habits now that will prepare us for trials that we will inevitably face in our lives .And in our those trials, we can approach them with same the resolve and faith as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did - knowing that God had the strength to deliver them and knowing that even if He didn't, He is still God and they will not be shaken.
To close, I'm reminded that the way I have finished out previous years has helped to set the tone for the following year. It's part of why I wrote about the importance of finishing strong last week. I can't entirely map out what 2020 will entirely look like for me or how I will attain my goals, but I can prepare for them and how I handle myself. There will inevitably be curve balls and surprises along the way, too. I can't prepare for every trial or curve ball that life will throw at me, but I can prepare for how I respond to them and take heart in knowing that those will provide learning experiences. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were prepared. And my prayer is that I would follow suit.
While Scar is the exact opposite of a role model, he apparently has the same motto as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: Be Prepared. Villainous musical number aside, there truly is a value to being prepared - one that we only fully realize that value of when we're not prepared.
If one isn't away of why being prepared is imperative, one can turn to Benjamin Franklin. One of Franklin's most well-known maxims is "by failing to prepare you are preparing to fail". Whether we're about to take a test, deliver a presentation, go on a trip, or anything else in between, we are always better off being prepared and planning ahead. If we don't take the time to study for that test, rehearse our talking points, or map out our trip, we're setting ourselves up to fail that test, deliver a less-than-stellar presentation, or go on a disorganized trip. And by the end, we often find ourselves lamenting that we wish we had done more in advanced. Sadly, the time we didn't spend preparing is a sunk cost at that point.
A common response to failing to prepare is saying "I'll just wing it" or even claiming that one does better when one doesn't prepare. There are admittedly times in life where we do have to wing it and improvise -- even when we've spent time preparing for what we're going to do. Life has a away of throwing curve balls at us that force us to improvise and adjust to our situation. In those instances, we may not be able to prepare for what life throws our way, but what we can do is prepare for how we'll respond and handle ourselves (to an extent).
Admittedly, there have been times I've gone on trips by myself where I've had to adjust my itinerary because I wasn't feeling well or came across something that I really wanted to do. I've also found myself in the middle of a presentation where I've had to improvise or add something in to help with the overall flow. In that sense, we can leverage improvisation to our benefit. However, constantly relying on improvisation may work in the short-term, but it isn't a long-term strategy. Improvisation leaves us constantly thinking and on our feet, which can be a lot more stressful than simply taking time to prepare.
Another way we can put preparation in perspective is to think of times when we've been dependent upon someone else's preparation. When I was in college, I remember a professor saying that he once walked out of a training because the trainer wasn't prepared. Some fellow attendees walked out with him. I couldn't imagine going to class to a conference...only for the teacher or speaker to stand up front and say that they weren't ready or prepared. That wouldn't exactly inspire confidence in the topic they are covering. In that sense, we don't want others to waste our time because they weren't prepared. Likewise, we don't want to waste others' time because we weren't prepared.
When it comes to preparing, past failures have a way of helping us prepare. This year, I've found myself relying on mistakes I've made in year's past to help me out this year. I've been more prepared this year because I wasn't prepared in past years. Preparation also has a way of building up our confidence about what we're doing and talking about, putting our minds at ease.
This summer, I read about the lives of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the trials that they endured over the course of their lives. When there were (approximately) teenagers, they were forced into captivity by the Babylonians and instructed to live as they did, down to the ways that they ate. While captivity isn't something that you can prepare for, Daniel was prepared for how he would respond. Daniel resolved not to defile himself and compromise his relationship with God in the process (Daniel 1:8) and through that, found a workaround to it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego followed suit with him.
While resolving to not eat certain foods may sound trivial, the resolve that Daniel and his friends had in captivity prepared them for larger trials they would face in their lives, trials that would be a matter of life or death. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced being thrown in a fiery furnace because they refused to compromise their faith in God and worship a false idol. They were able to face the fire (literally) because their faith in God was strong and they were prepared to face that fire. God delivered them from the fiery furnace. Likewise, Daniel faced being thrown into the lion's den because he refused to compromise his faith in God and worship the king. Likewise, Daniel's strong faith in God and the "lions" he had previously faced prepared him for the lion's den. God delivered him from the lion's den, too.
Because Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not willing to compromise their faith and relationship with God over what they ate, they were prepared not to compromise their faith and relationship with God when their lives were at stake. God may not always deliver us from the "fiery furnaces" or "lions dens" in our lives, but even if He doesn't, our strength and confidence can be rooted in our faith and trust in Him. We can't wait for trials to occur in our lives for us to be prepared; if we wait for those trials to occur to make our stand, we will be too late. Conversely, we have to reap habits now that will prepare us for trials that we will inevitably face in our lives .And in our those trials, we can approach them with same the resolve and faith as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did - knowing that God had the strength to deliver them and knowing that even if He didn't, He is still God and they will not be shaken.
To close, I'm reminded that the way I have finished out previous years has helped to set the tone for the following year. It's part of why I wrote about the importance of finishing strong last week. I can't entirely map out what 2020 will entirely look like for me or how I will attain my goals, but I can prepare for them and how I handle myself. There will inevitably be curve balls and surprises along the way, too. I can't prepare for every trial or curve ball that life will throw at me, but I can prepare for how I respond to them and take heart in knowing that those will provide learning experiences. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were prepared. And my prayer is that I would follow suit.
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