If only I had more qualifications
My earning would match my dream
If only I had more experience
My performance would be flawless
If only I had more resources
My living would beat my wishing
If only I was healthier, stronger
There’s nothing I wouldn’t dare
If only I looked different, better
Courage would have been my surname
If only I was like him, or like her
If only I had more supporters, no critiques
Nothing would be impossible to try.
Today, squandered on “if only”
Births empty and galling tomorrows
Then we blame fate for being unfair.
Every new day rises with blessings
But ever wanting, always reaching, never
Thankful leaves enough as not enough
As life exchanges contentment with contentions
We blame past for present, rob future today
Yet it is not the fault of what I don’t have yet
It’s about what I do with what I have today
It’s about what I do where I am now.
“If only” is the enemy of success, of progress
Multiplying when we are unwilling, unyielding:
If only I accept who and where I am for now
Not as the ultimate, but as launching pads
To who I can become and where I can reach;
If only I invest nothing less than my best in today
Knowing where I am may not be perfect
Knowing what I have is enough to keep me going
If only I let go of the “if onlys,” I’ll be poised
To make the most and get the best of each.
Nothing cripples potentials like “If only.” Instead of focusing on how to make the most of what is at hand, wishful thinking not only kicks off longing for the desired, it blames what we don’t have for where we are. Rather than serving as the reason that propels us to do what we ought to, it morphs into an excuse for why we are not doing what we ought. “If only” exonerates us from taking responsibility for our role in achieving the desired, it becomes the justification for why we are where we are, fanning surrender instead of urging action. Success is impossible and progress unsustainable when we settle for excuses.
Oftentimes, we wish that we had what we don’t have. We get that and then wish we had more. To an ungrateful heart, what we have is never enough. While a thankful heart celebrates every little gift, an ungrateful one doesn’t stop saying, “If only I had a little more.” It gets that little more and then it wants some more. If we don’t watch it, a lifetime could pass us by, wanting and reaching, always for more, never appreciating what we have or where we are per time.
While it does not help to pretend that we are what we are not, truth remains that we do not need what we don’t have to live our best. We can start with what we have, where we are, and grow over time. What we need is wisdom and willingness to find contentment in what we are today as we contend with what we have, to become, that which we hope to be tomorrow. All we need is enough for today, tomorrow will take care of itself.
Where we are today and what we have right now may not be much but we should not despise days of little beginning – they set the foundations for great endings. When we truly exhaust what we have today, tomorrow will serve enough to meet its own needs. As we use all that we have for today, it will launch us into a tomorrow that holds enough for us to accomplish what we need to and that is progress: one day at a time. Like my dad would say, it is not about what you have, it is what you do with what you have. May God’s wisdom guide us to make the most of every gift and every opportunity that comes our way.
Blessings.
Glory!