Last time I scratched the surface of rubber band theology. I wasn’t talking about jettisoning yourself from the snugly, familiar feel of your comfort zone into barenaked, fully-exposed panic zone. I merely pointed out that, not unlike a rubber band, if we don’t stretch we may not fulfill our intended purpose. I ended with an acrostic to motivate readers to do some stretching – personally, professionally, physically, or otherwise. My S-T-R-E-T-C-H-Y P-A-N-T-S acronym is probably not as entertaining as comedian Tim Hawkins’ song contemplating the fascination with yoga pants, but this is what comes from the entanglement of misfiring synapses and dysfunctional thoughts that are my brain.

Enough about my unresolved issues. I promised last time that I would dive deeper into these points.

Seize the moment – While you can (and should) learn from the past, you can’t change it. Neither can you fully predict the future. Live in the moment; look for opportunities and take advantage of them; don’t ruminate on the past or other things you can’t control; seize one day at a time.
Try something new – You’ve always wanted to try new things. DO IT! Learn to play an instrument; take a class; run a 5K; skydive; travel overseas; start a blog; volunteer at a soup kitchen; take a mission trip. Expanding your horizons can be frightening. But the exhileration, accomplishment, confidence, and memories created will be priceless.
Read (a lot) – In this age of technology overload, there is perhaps still nothing more mind-expanding than reading. It doesn’t matter the type of literature, just feed your mind with it. Being well-read may not make you a genius, but it can make you more interesting, informed, a better conversationalist, and you may even learn something!
Expect great things – No one wakes up in the morning hoping to be average, or goes into a situation striving for mediocrity. Expect amazing results. Don’t let your self-talk say anything besides how awesome, loved, and important you are.
Transform your thinking – As above, go into every endeavor expecting the best. I’ve heard it described as victim/victor mentality. See the glass half full. Set your mind on things above.

Cast no stones – You’ve heard warnings against throwing stones while living in a glass house, or Jesus’ invitation to judging Pharisees ‘without sin’ to cast the first stone. If you’re unwilling to chase your dreams or better yourself, you have no business discouraging anyone else from doing so. ‘Cast no stones’ speaks to avoiding self-righteousness and judgment. Beware lest you’re perfect. Cody Jinks’ song ‘Cast No Stones’ says it pretty well.
Help others reach their potential – If you’ve spent your whole life only looking out for yourself or your next promotion, you’ve missed one of the most important things you can do to make the world a better place. And I think we’ve all worked for you a few times.
Your mistakes don’t define you – Take it from an expert on mistakes: they are not who you are! God has a plan for us, and if we’re still this side of the dirt, we have more work to do. The first order of business is to stop letting your past keep you from reaching your full potential.

Pain is temporary (pride is not) – “Pain is temporary, pride is forever” was a catch phrase I remember from the late 1990s. We used it as cadre to inspire recruits, and threw it around during sucky missions to keep each other motivated. I remember the time one of my commanders, sincerely trying to motivate the troops, mispokenly screamed “Pride is temporary, pain is forever!” The good news is, pain generally is temporary. Pride developed through hard work, accomplishment, and other things related to getting outside your comfort zone will last a very long time.
Always do more than expected – This applies to relationships, work, sports, serving others, and more. Little things are big. Send thank-you cards; arrive early; leave late; buy someone’s lunch ; do unexpected favors or random acts of kindness; give money to someone in need with no expectation of repayment; return things you borrow in better condition than when loaned. Above all, always be the hardest working person you know in all areas. Work, live, love. HARD!
Never fail to learn something (especially from mistakes) – Even if you think something is a complete waste, always take something from it, even if that is leadrning what not to do. We’ve all known or worked for some incredible leaders we want to emulate. Most of us have worked for just as many who wrote the book on poor leadership. I think we learn as much from bad leaders as good, and from mistakes or defeats as winning or doing things right. Glean some redeeming aspect from any person or experience you encounter. No matter how bad.
Treat others the way you want them to treat you – The Golden Rule. But not just treating others the way you want to be treated; treating them the way they want you to treat them. Treating everyone with kindness, dignity and respect, whether they deserve it or not, is a pretty good start.
Stop giving life to the doubts of others – We end by going back to the beginning. “Then the peanut gallery piped in, telling you all the reasons it would never work and why you shouldn’t bother trying. Critics are like the pothole problem in Michigan…the road to where you want to get is full of them…” Every time we say ‘no’ to ourselves because a seed of doubt was planted, we give life to the doubts of others. Don’t give anyone else that kind of power.

Get Strong. Be Strong. Stay Strong.