“Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. There will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.” – Proverbs 27:23-27
According to this proverb, if you’ve got a goat herd, good news—you’re set for life. Not really. It’s the principle of focusing on what you control. Wealth, success, and influence wax and wane due largely to factors outside your control. It’s not as if natural disaster or sickness can’t suddenly hit your goats. It’s more like saying, “don’t quit your day job.”
I say “focus on your three-foot circle” because it brings home the physicality of your sphere of influence versus the invisible, supposedly infinite reach of your digital presence. This proverb speaks in economics, advising you to allocate the limited resource of your attention in proportion to the reliability of the outcome. “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds…” This assumes you’ve had flocks and herds for some time. Unlike the envy a crown arouses (or an online following), not as many people are coming for your goats. They’ll be there.
Your three-foot circle includes the people and tasks right in front of you that you know you should attend to.
Practically speaking, what would focusing on your three-foot circle do?
1)Your three-foot circle starts with God
Not many things are left in a three-foot radius. God is one. In him we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Whatever else is around you, God is the biggest thing. You live in his presence. Every thought, every email, every word in every meeting—God’s the One you’re doing it for. He cares, and he’s for you. This relationship will retain its highest value not just in the down-months, but for eternity.
2)Your three-foot circle includes your most meaningful people and work
Your three-foot circle requires you to live in the present. This is not to say you throw out planning. Eventually the goats will get thirsty; you should plan for that. You should focus your plans on the herd, though, not on what you’ll do with the money from their cheese. Or how much better life would be with chickens. You don’t get to future aspirations by bypassing the people and work around you today. And you get no guarantees. So steward well your meaningful relationships and work—the ones in that circle now.
3)Your three-foot circle shaves off anxiety and depression
Anxiety comes from living out imagined scenarios. Depression comes from living in comparison. A focus on your three-foot circle screens out those issues because it’s not there in front of you right now. That’s not to say you won’t have sad and worrying issues in your three-foot circle. There are plenty. But those happen to be the things you have the most agency in, rather than the whirling what-ifs beyond your reach.
A focus on your three-foot circle will bring you into a rightly-ordered life. God is omnipresent and omnipotent; you aren’t. Enjoy being who God made you and where he placed you today.
Bonus: Why You Can’t Let Yourself Feel Content
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