I’m sure everyone knows what I’m talking about when I mention purposely making the choice to succeed is also the fine art of setting yourself up for adversity and often failure. What in the h-e-double hockey sticks is that about, right?! I have deduced we are being both watched and listened to and our unseen enemies go to work immediately on rerouting our great plans and aspirations.

Sounds insane to the typical townfolk? Sure it does. But what other explanation is there? I call it the buttface law, or law of the buttfaces, if you will. Ever notice if you meander through life without aspiration or without goals, the moments when you’re just part of the rat race and sure, it’s just a phase maybe but you’re coasting on autopilot? The enemy leaves us alone, typically. And especially when we are willfully doing wrong and being generally bad people, he sits back and smiles, knowing his work is done and we’re doing just fine at digging ourselves a hole, deeper and wider by the minute.

I bring all this up because I am in need of a loophole. I have very hefty plans for my year and I’ve already been set back 3 weeks but I refuse to give up. In fact, I’m working even harder and I will succeed. Oops.. I just stamped another target on my backside. So where’s the loophole? Can there be one?

Unfortunately, there is no other option here or a special path I didn’t know about. Perseverance, hope and drive are my allies and I will embrace them passionately. Keep your head up and understand upfront that deterrents are headed your way. There is no avoiding them but in anticipating these pitfalls, facing them won’t shock you quite so much. You just need to get up faster.

Comfort, fear and self-doubt are your worst detractors. And I say this stuff for myself to hear as well because I’ve been allowing their whispering voices in daily. Without any hilarity, it’s funny how often we don’t even have to work to fail. Those negative voices are sometimes enough to hold us down before we even start to reach for success.

The will of the enemy is to box us in, chains us up and to make us forget we possess an ounce of strength. He has prit near the easiest job on the planet (and beyond) if one thinks about it. And on the flipper, defeating him and foiling his plans are quite simple as well. It just takes a discerning spirit and a positive attitude, it really does. As quickly as he can monkey wrench your point A to point B, you can turn the wheel back to continue on your heading.

And the more victories we encounter, the faster your enemy learns that you aren’t such a slouch after all. Will he leave you be? We wish. But the damage he can do will be limited by every smart and good decision you make.

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord. And my own vigilance will leave a trail of fire that will scald even my enemies flame loving fingers.