You Can Always Try Again

One of the most important things we can learn in mortality is that we can always try again. We are going to make mistakes. We are going to have periods when we are doing extremely well and periods when we struggle. There will be times when our lives are orderly, our habits are strong, and we feel like we are progressing rapidly. There will also be times when circumstances change and much of what we built seems to fall apart. None of those moments have to determine what happens next.

Jesus Christ has made progression possible because He has made repentance possible. We do not have to live our lives trapped by what happened yesterday. We can learn from the past without remaining there. We can turn toward Him today, make the next right choice, and begin moving again. Consistency is not a life without interruption, weakness, or failure. It is learning how to keep returning to the path and continuing forward.

Peaks and Valleys

Life naturally has peaks and valleys. There are seasons when we have a great deal of energy, time, discipline, and capacity. During those seasons, we may be able to maintain a strong routine involving prayer, scripture study, exercise, work, family responsibilities, service, learning, and many other good things. After maintaining those patterns for a long period of time, we can become very capable and accomplish far more than we once thought possible.

Then something changes. Someone becomes sick, work becomes demanding, a family crisis occurs, sleep is disrupted, financial problems arise, a new responsibility is added, or something unexpected completely changes the rhythm of life. Suddenly the routine that once seemed natural becomes difficult or impossible to maintain. Things begin falling away, and before long we realize that we are no longer living at the level we had reached before.

It is easy during those valleys to believe that something has gone wrong with us. We remember what we were previously capable of doing and wonder why we cannot simply continue doing it. We compare ourselves at a low point with ourselves at a high point and begin to feel discouraged. That comparison ignores the reality that our circumstances have changed and that human capacity changes with them.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught that the way we distribute our time and energy will change according to our circumstances and according to the season of life we are in. The objective does not change, because Jesus Christ remains the direction of our lives, but the pace at which we are able to move may change dramatically. Wisdom is learning to recognize the season we are in instead of demanding that every season look the same.

When we are at a peak, we should use the strength we have. We should work, build, learn, grow, and establish good things while we have the capacity to do so. When we enter a valley, however, the answer is not to condemn ourselves for being there. We need to recognize what has happened, adjust to our present circumstances, and begin climbing again.

Starting Small Again

One of the hardest parts of coming out of a difficult season is accepting that we may need to begin again at a much smaller level than where we left off. We remember everything we used to do and naturally want to return to it immediately. If we were exercising for an hour every day, reading several chapters of scripture, maintaining a detailed schedule, completing many household responsibilities, and accomplishing a great amount of work, we may expect ourselves to resume all of it as soon as the crisis passes.

The problem is that the person who originally reached that level did not begin there. That level was built gradually through weeks, months, and sometimes years of repetition. We added one habit and became comfortable with it. Then we added something else. Eventually those behaviors became normal, and we were able to carry a workload that would have overwhelmed us at the beginning.

When we come out of a valley, we often need to use the same process again. Instead of attempting to restore everything at once, we return to the beginning and establish something small enough that we can actually maintain it. Once that becomes steady, we add another piece. We continue building until our capacity increases again.

This can feel discouraging because we already know what the peak feels like. We do not want to climb a mountain we have already climbed. Yet trying to jump directly from the bottom to the top usually results in another collapse. A slow, deliberate climb will often return us to strength much faster than repeatedly demanding more from ourselves than we are presently able to sustain.

There is nothing wrong with reducing the size of a habit in order to preserve the habit itself. Five minutes of exercise may be better than continually planning an hour and doing nothing. Reading a few verses may be better than repeatedly intending to study for an hour and never beginning. A simple prayer offered consistently can become the beginning of a much deeper devotional life. Starting small is not lowering the destination. It is choosing a realistic first step toward it.

Consistency Matters More Than Intensity

Intensity can be impressive because it produces visible results quickly. A person can become extremely motivated, completely change a schedule, begin several new habits, and accomplish an enormous amount for a short period of time. The difficulty is that a life cannot be built upon a level of effort that cannot be maintained.

Consistency is less dramatic, but it is much more powerful over time. A person who does something manageable every day will usually go farther than someone who repeatedly moves between extreme effort and complete exhaustion. The objective is not to prove how much we can accomplish during our most motivated moments. It is to create patterns that remain possible when motivation is ordinary.

Brushing our teeth is a simple example. Most adults do not need to spend every evening convincing themselves that brushing their teeth is important. It has become part of the ordinary structure of life. We do it because it is what we do. The habit has been repeated so consistently that the decision requires very little energy.

Many important practices can eventually become similar. Prayer, scripture study, exercise, household work, reading, learning, budgeting, service, and other good practices become easier when they stop depending entirely upon inspiration in the moment. Repetition creates structure, and structure reduces the amount of effort required to begin.

The story of the tortoise and the hare teaches the same principle. The hare possessed far greater speed, but speed was not enough. The tortoise continued moving at a pace he could sustain until he reached the destination. In our own lives, a slower pace that continues is often more valuable than extraordinary effort that repeatedly disappears.

One Percent Better

Elder Michael A. Dunn taught this principle in his general conference message “One Percent Better.” He described how small improvements, made repeatedly across many areas, can eventually produce enormous results. The individual changes may appear insignificant when viewed by themselves, but their combined effect over time can completely change the outcome.

This provides a very practical way to approach personal growth. Instead of looking at everything that is wrong and attempting to repair all of it immediately, we can identify something specific that can become a little better. We can improve the way we pray, the way we speak to someone, the way we use our time, the way we take care of our body, or the way we fulfill a responsibility. Once that improvement begins to take root, we continue building upon it.

Elder Dunn also acknowledged that progression does not always appear orderly. There will be setbacks, and sometimes we may feel that we made progress only to lose some of it again. That does not erase the principle. Small improvements still matter, even when the line of progression is uneven.

A stalagmite is a useful illustration of what happens when small actions are repeated for a very long time. A single drop of mineral-rich water falls and appears to accomplish almost nothing. Another drop follows, and then another. No individual drop seems significant, yet continued deposition eventually creates something massive.

Our character develops in much the same way. One prayer does not create a lifetime of faithfulness, and one good decision does not create a disciplined person. The repeated choices accumulate. The person we eventually become is largely formed through thousands of ordinary decisions that seemed very small when we made them.

The question, therefore, does not always need to be, “How do I completely change my life?” A much more useful question may be, “What can I make a little better today?” Small improvement gives us something concrete to act upon, and continued improvement allows growth to compound over time.

Direction Determines Destination

President Thomas S. Monson taught that lives, like doors, can turn upon very small hinges. A seemingly small decision can change our direction, and once our direction changes, time can carry us somewhere very different from where we originally intended to go.

President Monson also referred to Alice in Wonderland and Alice's conversation with the Cheshire Cat. Alice reaches a place where several roads are available and asks which one she should take. The answer depends upon where she wants to go. If the destination does not matter, then the road does not matter very much either.

For a disciple of Jesus Christ, the destination does matter. We are not wandering through mortality without an objective. We are trying to become like Jesus Christ and return to the presence of God. Because we know where we want to go, the direction of our choices matters.

This changes how we evaluate ourselves. We often place too much emphasis on our present location. We look at someone who appears far ahead and assume they must be doing well, or we look at ourselves during a difficult period and assume we are failing. Present position alone does not tell us where a person will eventually arrive.

A person may presently be strong but gradually turning away from Christ. Another person may be struggling greatly but has finally turned around and begun walking toward Him. Their present circumstances may look very different, but direction will eventually matter more than the place where either person happened to begin.

We should therefore regularly ask ourselves where our current choices are taking us. The important question is not whether we have already arrived. It is whether the path we are presently walking leads toward the person we are trying to become.

Course Correction Is Normal

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has compared discipleship to flying an airplane. A pilot does not establish a heading once and then assume that the aircraft will remain perfectly aligned with the destination. Wind, weather, small errors, and changing conditions continually affect the aircraft, requiring minor adjustments throughout the flight.

Those corrections are not evidence that the pilot has failed. They are part of flying the airplane. A good pilot expects to make adjustments because remaining on course requires attention.

Our spiritual lives require the same kind of awareness. We are constantly affected by responsibilities, fatigue, temptation, distraction, emotion, unexpected events, and our own imperfect judgment. Even when our original intentions were good, we may discover that we have drifted.

The danger is not simply that drift happens. The greater danger is failing to notice it or refusing to correct it once we do. A small deviation maintained for a long distance can eventually take an aircraft far from its destination. A small change in our own habits or attitudes can do the same thing if it is allowed to continue without examination.

This is why frequent self-examination is important. We notice that prayer has become careless, that our patience has diminished, that entertainment is consuming too much time, that we have begun neglecting someone, or that a habit is moving in an unhealthy direction. We do not need to panic because we noticed the deviation. We need to correct the heading.

Course correction is not an embarrassing interruption to discipleship. It is discipleship. A faithful life is not one in which adjustments are never necessary. It is one in which we remain willing to recognize when something needs to change and act before the drift carries us farther away.

Repentance Is a New Beginning

Eventually we discover that some of the corrections we need are more than changes in scheduling or habits. We have sinned, made a serious mistake, allowed something wrong into our lives, or become someone we do not want to remain. This is where Jesus Christ changes everything.

Repentance means that failure does not have to become our permanent identity. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can turn back to God and become clean. Elder Uchtdorf has described God as a God of new beginnings. The Lord has repeatedly promised in scripture that when His people truly repent, He forgives them and remembers their sins no more.

We sometimes believe that principle when speaking about other people but have difficulty believing it concerning ourselves. We repent, ask for forgiveness, and then continue carrying the accusation. Years later, we still define ourselves by something the Lord has already forgiven. We speak internally as though our past remains the most important evidence of who we are.

That is not how God asks us to live. If we have sincerely repented and the Lord has forgiven us, then in our standing before Him we are permitted to begin again. We do not need to keep dragging a forgiven identity into every new day. The Savior did not suffer for our sins so that we could spend the rest of our lives continually sentencing ourselves for them.

President Russell M. Nelson taught that repentance is the key to progress and encouraged the Saints to discover the joy of daily repentance. That description matters. Repentance is not intended to be a constant exercise in humiliation. It is the privilege of changing because Christ has made change possible.

When we fall, we turn to Him. When we recognize that we have been wrong, we change. When we have wandered, we come back. We may have to do that many times throughout mortality, but the number of times we have needed Christ does not diminish His willingness to receive us.

Letting the Past Go

There is another way the past can prevent progression even after the Lord has opened the way forward. We can refuse to release it. Sometimes we hold tightly to what others have done to us, and sometimes we hold even more tightly to what we have done ourselves.

A person can become so accustomed to rehearsing old failures that self-condemnation begins to feel like humility. They continually remind themselves of every time they quit, every promise they broke, every season when they did poorly, and every moment when they failed to live according to what they knew. Eventually the past becomes an argument against trying anything new.

That kind of thinking does not produce growth. It consumes the energy that could have been used to act differently today. There is wisdom in remembering lessons, but there is no spiritual advantage in continually reopening a case that God has already closed.

The same principle applies to our relationships with others. Forgiveness does not require us to pretend that painful experiences felt good or that we learned nothing from them. It means we stop feeding the injury and allowing it to govern the present. We surrender the right to continually relive the offense and allow Christ to free our hearts from it.

There comes a point when the most faithful thing we can do with yesterday is leave it there. We take the wisdom with us and release the condemnation, bitterness, shame, and resentment that do not belong in the life we are trying to build. The past can teach us, but it does not have to own us.

Building Spiritual Momentum

President Russell M. Nelson taught about the power of spiritual momentum. Momentum develops as repeated choices begin moving us in a particular direction. At first, changing a pattern can require tremendous effort because we are working against habits, expectations, and desires that have already gained strength. Once we begin moving consistently in a better direction, however, the next faithful choice often becomes easier.

This is why the beginning of change can feel disproportionately difficult. Establishing the first habit requires effort. The second may still feel awkward. With repetition, those choices begin supporting one another. Prayer strengthens scripture study, scripture study affects our decisions, better decisions strengthen relationships, and healthier relationships make the home more peaceful. The effects begin multiplying.

Momentum can also work against us. Neglect becomes easier when it is repeated. A small compromise can make the next compromise less uncomfortable. Delay can become a habit, and discouragement can eventually persuade us that action is no longer worthwhile. The direction of our momentum therefore deserves attention.

The purpose of spiritual momentum is not to create a life in which effort disappears. It creates a life in which good choices increasingly support other good choices. We are no longer attempting to manufacture every righteous action from nothing. We have built patterns that help carry us forward.

Elder Uchtdorf has also compared discipleship to forward movement in a bicycle or an airplane. A bicycle becomes easier to balance when it is moving, and an airplane requires forward motion to create lift. We likewise need movement in our discipleship. The pace may be different according to our season, but we should resist becoming spiritually stationary.

When momentum has been lost, we do not have to create all of it in one day. Momentum begins with movement. One faithful decision creates the opportunity for another, and repeated movement gradually restores strength.

Start Today

One of the great traps of personal growth is continually postponing the beginning. We tell ourselves that we will change when the week is less busy, when the children are easier, when work calms down, when we feel more motivated, when our health improves, or when some future version of our life finally gives us ideal circumstances. That future can remain just beyond reach for years.

The only part of our lives in which we can actually choose is the present. We can learn from yesterday and prepare for tomorrow, but neither of those times is available for action right now. Whatever improvement is going to begin must eventually become a decision made today.

That does not mean we need to repair everything today. We need to choose something we can actually do and begin there. The first step may be very small, especially if we have been struggling for a long time. Its importance is not measured only by its size. Its importance comes from the direction it establishes.

There will probably be another valley someday. There may be another interruption, another mistake, another period when routines weaken or circumstances become difficult. When that happens, we do not need to conclude that everything has been lost. We already know what to do.

We turn toward Jesus Christ, determine where we are, and take the next faithful step available to us. Then we continue from there. Because of Him, no faithful beginning has to be our last opportunity to begin.

I promise that if you will choose to start today, if you will choose to let go of your past, and if you will choose to be patient with yourself, God will heal your heart. He will heal your circumstances, and you can overcome any obstacle.

God is a God of miracles. He is able to do all things, and He can move whatever mountain lies in front of you. You simply have to be obedient, start small, and begin trying right now.

I testify that Jesus Christ lives, and that this is the gospel that He has given us. If you will be obedient and begin coming unto Him now, no matter how meek or how small that beginning may be, He will help you. He will heal you. He will bless your life, and you will be filled with His Spirit.

You will be able to overcome the obstacles that stand before you, no matter how many times you fall and no matter how many times you have to try again. He can wipe the slate clean again. You can get back up, and you can keep moving forward.

And as you do, God will send angels to bear you up and to be around you. They will go before you. They will watch over you and protect you. And God will send them on your behalf to protect and bless your loved ones who are also struggling. Because of your faithfulness and because of your example, He will reach out to them, strengthen them, help them, and bless them also as they begin trying to come unto Him.

I testify of this in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.