A New Mindset on Goals

Saturday, March 15, 2014

I feel like it's been forever since I've blogged! I've missed it! Yet, I suddenly had virtually no time to even think of editing my drafts, creating new posts or answering emails. Life! The past 3 weeks have been filled with some serious changes and I've been crazy busy trying to transition my life accordingly. Have you ever thought you had an idea for how something was going to work out, only to realize Jesus had other plans? It's the story of my life I tell ya!

I'm grateful for a God that thinks enough of little, old me to order my steps, even when the path He lays isn't easy or what I thought I wanted. Sometimes it's hard not to be stressed when things are completely out of your control, but I found peace in my faith and trusting God's plan for my life. I love knowing that God has a plan that far exceeds my own dreams.

It's excellent to have plans & goals for yourself, in fact, everyone should. I, however, can be kind of rigid and, at times, hard on myself because of them - which is definitely not the best way to be. I have to make room in my plans/goals (no matter how well-intentioned they are) for detours. I have to be humble enough to stay open to the fact that my ideas will sometimes be shattered to ensure I stay in line with God's plan for me. I read this quote today and think it fits perfectly:

"Going all out for God is not just about getting where God wants you to go - it's about who you become in the process. It's not about how quickly you get there - it's about how far you go... It's going the distance, finishing the race, and remaining faithful." - Mark Batterson

Of course, this is bigger than my usual workout-3x-a-week or moisturize-and-seal-my-hair-type goals (ha!). It's a life lesson that I am constantly learning. But even with those smaller goals, I feel there is room for improvement in the way I go about them. All of my monthly goals are about creating ways to get to bigger goals - being healthier, more consistent... a better me. While my checklist approach has been fine, I don't know that it's the best. I came across this post by Nadege of Relaxed Hair Health about new ways to think about setting goals and thought it was ideal timing for helping me analyze this.

I want my monthly goals to make me feel like I'm closer to accomplishing my bigger goals; whether they are spiritual, about my hair, my blog or what have you, that is the idea behind them. I want to be in a constant state of transforming into a better me, recognizing that sometimes great transformations come from failures. So, while keeping the same kind of goals in mind from February, I am going to reach for them without a specific list of how-to's. This week, I have been asking myself each day what I can do to get closer to a goal and it's been great. I am also going to give myself a longer period of time before reviewing. Instead of going over goals again a month from now, I'm going to wait for two months and then decide how well this approach is working. We shall see! I'm excited. Hope you all have been well :)