So you have now dared to dream, and it is in black and white on paper. The next step is equally simple, and just as rewarding. Start to move. Begin to take concrete action in the direction of your long term goals and keep track of the milestones you start to achieve on your journey. This way, the loop is closed and you have taken a giant virtuous step towards becoming everything you were meant to be.
It is important here in this step to keep the actions small and easy to achieve. Too often, when swimming in the heady river of our own passion, we try to do everything at once, and inevitably we sabotage our own chances at success. I know this all too well from my many failed attempts at weight loss. I would start running, counting calories, eating smaller portions and dropping junk foods all at the same time. And when the scale did not move as fast as you want, a sadness and disappointment would set in my heart and I would dive back into old habits. “If all this is not working,’ I would reason, ‘I might as well enjoy my sleep and that opulent chocolate cake I have been holding back on.
Goals
My story is by no means unique. According to some research, 64% of new year’s resolutions do not make it past January. This shows just how easily we face roadblocks and reasons to quit even on our desires and deeply held dreams. There are of course many reasons for why this statistic exists, but all of the reasons have the same fruit-we lose the motivation to continue to take action towards our goals and we stop. And it it this fruit that we need to stop from growing and ripening in our own journeys beyond 2020.
Proverbs 13:12 says hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. A long-term dream or goal is just that-long term. It’s achievement will be a marathon and not a sprint. And if that is the only target we have in our minds, our hearts will lose interest as it appears that the dream is not happening. I believe we are wired to enjoy success and find no pleasure in failure. Hence, the ease with which we lose focus on long-term goals.
However, keeping our goals and action steps small and easy makes success easier. Not only is the action you need to take often clearer, but so is the key parameter you need to track. Both of which sets you up for success. Success energizes you, and spurs you on to the next small win, which in turn energizes you again and spurs you on to the next small win. Eventually, the virtuous cycle becomes unstoppable wave of momentum towards your ultimate big dream.
It sounds simple I know, but simple does not mean easy to do. The temptation to sit back and let life happen will come. The deceptive voice that whispers to you that you are powerless to change either your past or your future will speak, and sometimes it will shout loudly. Some days, progress may be difficult to see or measure. And it is days like this where the simplicity of what you need to do will pay out the most. Because on those days, there will be no new decision for you to make. On those days, the routine of small, measurable action towards the dream will take away your need to decide and help you to keep going in spite of how you would be feeling.
So today, my final challenge is this: – break down the vision into small, bite sized actions and start moving. The future is waiting for you to become who God called you to become.
So today, my final challenge is this: – break down the vision into small, bite sized actions and start moving. The future is waiting for you to become who God called you to become.
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