Episode 1244: What Choices You Make Today Determine Your Future

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1,244 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:06] Matt & Jocelyn Woodrum: I'm Matt. And I'm Jocelyn

[00:00:09] from the Family Life Movement

[00:00:11] Podcast. We challenge you to

[00:00:13] find a way to balance your work and your family, and one way to be inspired to do that is to

[00:00:19] listen to this The Inspired Stewardship Podcast by my friend Scott Maderer.

[00:00:25] Scott Maderer: Because you can make a different choice tomorrow. You can change what you're doing and do something different tomorrow. It is possible to do that, but you actually have to do it today. The present is the moment that most matters because the choices that we make compound and begin to pile up. Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:55] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you [00:01:00] must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that. Can impact the world

[00:01:16] in today's episode about investing in others through stewarding your talent. I talk with you about how every choice we make, both big and small affect us. I share how there really isn't a past or a future, only a present, and I also talk about how the choices we make compound and add up. You've heard me talk about developing your talent.

[00:01:38] And one of the best ways to do that is through books. But if you're like most people today, it's hard to find the time to read. And that's why today's podcast is brought to you by Audible. Go to inspired stewardship.com/audible to sign up and you can get a 30 day free trial. There's over 180,000 [00:02:00] titles to choose from, and you can pick one and listen your way to developing your talents via.

[00:02:07] That's inspired stewardship.com/audible to get your free trial and listen to great books the same way you're listening to this podcast yesterday. One of the things I talked about was not spending too long on a decision if it was a reversible decision or relatively minor decision, and to spend time on it if it was a bigger one or if it was an irreversible decision.

[00:02:35] and at first glance today where I'm saying that every choice that you make matters because every choice that you make affects what happens to you in the future. What you become. And what results you get at first glance, that may seem like, Oh, then we have to spend time on every single decision because every single decision becomes vital to what I'm [00:03:00] going to do or what I'm going to become, or how my life is going to turn out.

[00:03:05] And this is another one of those instances where it's a both. And yes, every decision you make, both large and small, has an effect on what happens to you, where you end up, what things and you do or don't do. How the results of all of these things in your life, your relationships, your spirituality, your finances, turn up and show up.

[00:03:31] And yet, at the end of the day, Whether or not you make your bed on a particular morning may not really be a massive decision that you have to spend hours and hours working on because it is irreversible decision. If I suddenly decide or realize that, you know what? Making my bed every morning gives me an accomplishment in the morning.

[00:03:55] It makes me feel like I've done something. It makes me feel more [00:04:00] ready for the day, more organized, more capable, more able, and therefore I have a better. Then you change the decision and you simply begin to make your. It's funny, but all too often this is one of the things that causes us to, to break a streak of good habits because we've been going along doing fine, and then something goes wrong and because something went wrong once we quit.

[00:04:29] The truth is it's not the little habit only by itself that affects you. The choice to quit is part of what affects. It's why you have to realize there really isn't a past or a future, only the present when it comes to the activities that you do and the choices that you make and where they're important.

[00:04:52] It's in the present because that's really the only time that we have, that we can act. [00:05:00] We can't act in a time that doesn't happen. We can't act in a place. Entity or example that doesn't exist. And the truth is, the future exists only as a possibility, and the past only exists as the lessons and the memories and the feelings that we have about it.

[00:05:25] What really matters is the present, the time today, the actions we take today, the choices we make today, because you can make a different choice. Tomorrow, you can change what you're doing and do something different Tomorrow, it is possible to do that, but you actually have to do it today. The present is the moment that most matters because the choices that we make compound and begin to pile up.

[00:05:58] We shouldn't spend a lot of [00:06:00] time on a small decision. But those small decisions over time begin to pile up and add up. If every single day we eat a slice of cake, we eventually have a problem with our diet, With our weight, with our health, we have other problems that become realized. Not eating cake one time, but through a series of over and over again, compounding those choices.

[00:06:29] One after the other, until we suddenly look up and realize that we've got a problem, something's wrong, and we need to do something about it. We need to get better about it. We need to make different choices today. , and again, we're back to today. We have to act today.

[00:06:49] We can't act in the future. See, when we think about our future self, we often think that our future self has incredible superpowers. All of the things that we put [00:07:00] off and didn't wanna do and all of the bad choices that we made today, our future self will undo all of that through some sort of magical powers our future self will make and be a completely different person than we are today.

[00:07:15] And yet the truth is your future self is made up of millions of tiny decisions compounded over time until you get to the point where you are. That's why yes, you shouldn't spend a lot of time thinking about those decisions that are easily reversible. But at the same time, you need to be aware and able to understand that those small choices do matter, but not in their singleness, not one at a time.

[00:07:44] They matter in the compounding effect. Over time. They matter when they add up. That's really where we have to pay attention, not just in the single event, but in the power of making [00:08:00] compounded good decisions are compound. Poor decisions. See, that's the truth too. We have to think about it in terms of their long term impact in terms of what we do today and how it's going to line us up for success in the future, and that only happens through compounding through momentum.

[00:08:21] It's why when you do have that habit streak going and then something goes wrong and you fall off the wagon, it's so important to get back on and keep. Because that's the compounding effect. That's what adds up over time. That's what truly makes a difference in your life. Thanks for listening.

[00:08:39] Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you like this episode on the Stewardship of Talent, you [00:09:00] can go over to inspired stewardship.com/talent and sign up for our five week series on the stewardship of talent.

[00:09:10] Or if you're in the us, you can text 4, 4, 2 2, 2 talent tips. That's talent tips to 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, and get those tips. Until next time, invest your. Your talent and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.