Survival & Strategy: The First Steps Forward
“Surviving is not rebuilding.” That phrase echoes like a warning. Survival mode keeps you breathing, but it does not get you out of the pit.
If all you do is survive, you will stay stuck. Strategy is what gets you moving. And strategy does not always look glamorous. Sometimes it looks like forcing yourself to breathe deeply, scribbling thoughts into a notebook, or listing what you still have instead of obsessing over what is gone.
It’s funny how scripture always comes to mind when we are in trouble. For me it was 2 Kings 4. Elisha asked the widow, “What do you have in your house?” She thought she had nothing ….but she still had a small jar of oil. And that little bit was enough for God to multiply. Sometimes the only thing between staying stuck and moving forward is realizing you already have something to work with.
LIFE LESSON: Survival keeps you breathing, but strategy gives you direction. The shift happens when you focus on what you still have instead of obsessing over what you lost.You already have something. It may not look like much, but God specializes in multiplying the little that is left. Strategy begins when you stop staring at the loss and start using what is still in your hands.
Panic will always keep asking the question “what if?” Strategy forces you to ask “what now?”
So what does taking inventory look like in real life?
Take inventory of your resources. Not in a Wall Street way. In a “what do I actually have right now that I can use” way.
If you lost your job: maybe you still have skills, contacts, or even a free library card for learning.
If you lost a relationship: maybe you still have time, health, and space to rebuild.
If you feel like you lost yourself: maybe you realize that you still have breath in your lungs, which means there is still time.
Think 24 hours, not 24 years. Trying to solve your entire life in one sitting will break you. But you can win today. Stack enough today’s and momentum shows up.
Action Step: Take inventory today. Write down every resource you still have … skills, connections, tools, even your health. Then pick one small action that uses something on that list.
Survival keeps you breathing. Strategy gives you direction. And direction, even if shaky at first, is what eventually gets you free.
Grow deep. Rise strong.