TAKE CHARGE OF THE “IF” IN LIFE
By Jim Davis

A lot of the conflicts in life don’t come from disagreements with others. Instead, they are due to the lies we tell ourselves, the unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves, procrastination, or a lot of other things that only we can control. Or maybe things no one can control, like the weather for instance.

Or the “ifs” we encounter.

A few years ago I was watching a Lady Vols basketball game. Coach Pat Summitt had called a timeout and was going over game strategy with her team. Not a particularly unusual situation ordinarily, but this time it was quite different. Pat was wearing a mike, and we could hear her as we watched her talking with the players. I listened as she pointed to the ever-present clipboard with the diagram of the basketball court. She was telling them something like, “If they do this, then we’ll do this, but if they do this, here’s what we’ll do” – describing different possibilities they might encounter.

As I watched and listened it hit me. Or maybe to be more correct, “IF” hit me. We are continually encouraged to ignore “if” or to minimize its importance. You’ve probably heard the cute little rhyme, “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, every day would be like Christmas.” Making excuses is only one of the uses of “if.” There are others, too, and they can be even more powerful in a completely different way.

One is the “planning if” that I observed Coach Summitt using. And there’s another kind of “what if.”

I experienced it on a hot summer day in south Georgia when I was about 12 years old. I was being treated so unfairly that I couldn’t stand it. I was seething. I was fussing. I was mowing the lawn. No choice. No one asked if I would like to do it. It was part of the job of being a part of my family. I hated it, and I didn’t care who knew it. 

Then, for some reason, a thought came to me that just about blew me away. I thought what if I were a grown-up with the same attitude I had at that particular time, and behaving the way I was. It was not a pretty picture. I can still remember exactly where in the yard I was mowing. It was one of those “life-altering events.” I changed my attitude right then and there, and never went back. It was a major part of my “growing up.”

The next time you’re faced with one of those “if conflicts,” remember this: There’s a big IF right in the middle of “LIFE.” But, it’s only an “if,” not “if only.”