This morning I came into my office and decided to straighten things up a bit. Not that anything was overly messy; just not how I like things to be. I opened my write-on wipe-off board and began to erase. Within seconds it was blank––but not clean. I didn’t even realize just how dirty it was until I sprayed that special water/alcohol solution and wiped it off, and…WOW! I had no idea! I sprayed, wiped some more, then started to see the board in a whole new light.
The board was no longer just blank. It actually looked new.
That set me to thinking about the New Year. Of course, it’s known as the designated time of year in which to realign our actions, set new goals or just re-commit to old ones. But even if you’re brimming with determination and resolve, you still may be holding on to things that slow you down––hindrances and encumbrances you may not know about.
For a short while, I was working to get my pilot’s license. During my studies,I learned that aviation deals with something called “The Lift to Drag Ratio.” Turns out there’s three types of “drag”––and no, none of them involve women’s clothes. They’re things that impede the aircraft’s speed. They include:
- Induced drag – When the nose of the aircraft is purposefully either raised, lowered or turned, which increases the surface facing oncoming winds, creating drag to slow the aircraft down.
- Parasitic drag – Anything attached to the aircraft like antennas, landing gear, and others, which cause friction that slows the aircraft.
- Surface drag – What I call “the cost of doing business,” this is drag created by the aircraft’s actual surface against the air, again causing deceleration. Picture the Space Shuttle during re-entry into the atmosphere and how the fuselage itself created so much friction that it becomes engulfed in flames. If you want to fly, you will have this type of drag––but it doesn’t mean you can’t minimize it as much as possible.
I want to point out a few parallels between the laws of aviation physics and of human life. What is slowing YOU down? What drag is keeping you from going faster, more efficiently or reaching your ‘destinations’? Let’s look at these forces individually and consider their correlation to how we live our daily lives.
- Induced – What friction do you ALLOW into your life every day? What position do you put yourself in? What people do you surround yourself with? What are you filling your head with? What are you trying to prove and to whom? These are things we bring upon ourselves. We have control over them. Despite how powerful they may feel, they do NOT have control over us!
- Parasitic – What things do you allow to attach to you? Is there an energy vampire in your life? Are you over-committing yourself to too many things? Do you have more on your list than hours in a day? Maybe you need to cut off some of those parasites!
- Surface – Life is life. It’s tough. Jesus actually told His believers that their lives would be TOUGHER than normal. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” When we accept Christ, our natural human nature, once conformed to this world, now realigns onto a different path. We are transformed by Him, but sometimes we have yet to acknowledge that transformation in our minds. Forcing our limited selves to accept, and live out, such mind-blowing realities will bring us face-first against friction and drag. The path is both natural and abrasive. It is the price we pay to play. It is the “cost of doing business.” But our prize is not here and now. It is not in the ‘things’ we have or the accumulation of anything that can be consumed in the fire. It is our sacrifice of ourselves for a reward that awaits us when this tough life is over.
So if you really want to soar this New Year, do a preflight check. Look closely at your life, your to-do list, your calendar, even your phone’s contact list. Check out who you are spending time with. What hidden sources of drag can you eliminate? How can you streamline your life to enter this New Year a better, more efficient, more productive, more caring, more loving, more effective you?
Don’t forget; we all need support (think literal “Lift”) from each other on this wild journey through life. We all need the affirmations of people around us. So put yourself in the company of people who will encourage you to reach your goals, help you improve yourself and be there for you when you need comforting. But God never intended us to be able to do this alone. He’s always there to help us, love us and be our friend. He never turns away from us––we turn away from him. And turning away from Him is the worst, most catastrophic source of drag your life could ever suffer.