I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of goals. Tons, actually. Sometimes I wake up saying Hit the ground running. I know the goals for the day… generally. I don’t write them down, and, as a consequence, I sometimes forget to meet them. It turns out, writing goals down is an important step in meeting them. I don’t know that we need to write down every goal we have, but identifying the big ones by writing them down and making a plan to meet them is important.
Several years back, several “someones” did studies on visualizing oneself doing something correctly and the effect that had on doing it for real. I believe they talked about having basketball players visualize themselves making free shots, and they postured that the visualization of making free shots was almost as useful as practicing making free shots itself. I believe this. The brain is amazing.
So, we have to identify the goal, writing it down and claiming it. We have to visualize ourselves meeting the goal. The last step would be to pursue it persistently. This last step is difficult for me. I find that my goals evolve and change over time. For instance, I decided the fourth year I was at Lawton Academy of Arts & Sciences that God was going to provide a secondary building that was state-of-the-art. I began pacing out the rooms on our current soccer field. Over the years, I drew plans to a second story on our current building, plans for two-story cafeteria and auditorium in our current playground area, and a completely separate building in that soccer field. Fourteen years later, God has provided that building. It is truly wonderful, and there are several state-of-the-art components. It is larger than I expected, yet it doesn’t have all of the amenities of which I dreamed. So, was the goal accomplished or not? You bet it was! We have a wonderful facility just as we need it, and everyone is very excited about utilizing it.
Let’s use another example. I began desiring to be a high school music teacher in the 7th grade. By my senior year, three of my six classes revolved around the music program, and I was the director of my choir when substitutes came for my choir teacher who died of cancer by the end of the year. I went off to Oklahoma Baptist University to make myself the best music teacher ever. That summer, I cam home and subbed in the local high schools. Since I was just 18, several of the 17-year-olds felt they could ask me out. That was uncomfortable, so I began substituting in the elementary schools, and I fell in love with it. Fast-forward twenty years, and I became a high school music teacher at my current job. Too cool! I was prepared. Then eight years later, God brought an even better music teacher my way, and she took the part of my very full job description.
I guess my point is that we cannot be so persistent of a goal that we do not see how it can evolve and change over the years. Goals are not meant to be an end. They are part of the process of living. If we set goals as an end point, what do we do after we meet that goal? Many people have made this mistake, and once they reach the goal, they don’t know what to do with themselves.
So, identify goals, visualize yourself accomplishing them, and be persistent, but be flexible, too. Sometimes our goals are not as big as what is actually going to happen. Give life the opportunity to pleasantly surprise you!
- Michelle