If I just….

If I could only…

If a couple more things fall into place…

What’s your plan? What are you strategizing about?

We celebrate people whose plans work out. They get what they were working for, they become who they dreamed they could be. We say: “you can attain whatever you put your mind to.”

Sadly, this imbalance leaves many in the dust. Many who come from a privileged place see no problem. But only a lucky micro-percentage of the rest of the population cash in on their dreams.

And even if you’ve had a charmed life — opportunity and resources abounding — life never truly goes the way you want it. Cancer shows up on a scan, your wife leaves you, a pregnancy ends tragically, your 17-year-old hates your guts. In one context you might tout the success of your well-laid plans, but these are the things that are crushing you from within.

Something, sometime in your life will tempt you to re-evaluate your self-salvation strategy. We do well to listen to those things, roll up our sleeves, and do business with our expectations.

Maybe there’s a more satisfying way to go about this.