Treat the soil, not the plant.
A few months ago, I found myself in a conversation with a fellow WFG team member, Chris Robinson, on the topic of lawn care. Having previously noted my obsession for a perfectly manicured lawn in a prior message, it is likely no surprise to you, the reader, that I was very interested in his tips and suggestions.
As I began to ask Chris a question, he interrupted me with sage advice – Treat the soil, not the plant.
This simple statement was his attempt to reorient my thinking away from addressing my weed problem with traditional weed problem solutions. He went on to say, “You shouldn’t focus on what product to apply to remove the weeds. Instead, it is more important to focus on applying a product that fosters a healthy foundation of soil.”
Healthy soil = Thick grass.
Thick grass = Weeds don’t grow.
Having grown up near our family farm, surrounded by corn or soybeans a mile in all directions, Chris’ advice made perfect sense. On the farm, a great crop is the result of great ‘soil’ – and the most valuable farmland is valued based on the quality of its ‘soil’ – and the value discrepancy can be significant.
As I pondered these thoughts over the next few weeks, my mind began to see the universal application the concept of healthy ‘soil’ has on our lives.
Treat the soil, not the plant.
Living life intentionally requires us to ‘treat the soil’. And the application I would submit is most relevant is our beliefs. Scott Welle, author, speaker, and founder of Outperform the Norm, shared at one of his recent speaking engagements that the average person has 50,000 thoughts per day.
50,000!!! 80% of them are negative.
And that’s the ‘average’ person. Therefore, it’s hard to imagine individuals who are ‘above average’ getting the negative thoughts below 50%. Regardless of where you and I fall on the spectrum, the question lies in, “What can we do about this?”
Scott went on to explain, that day, that it is our Beliefs that drive our Thoughts – Thoughts that drive our Feelings – Feelings that drive our ‘Behaviors’ – and lastly, Behaviors that drive our Results. Therefore, if we want to have a healthy life, no different than my desire to have a healthy lawn, the ‘soil’ to focus on is our ‘Beliefs’.
Treat the soil, not the plant.
INTENTIONAL LIVING CALL TO ACTION: Spend time writing out your ‘beliefs’ and tend to your ‘soil’