It felt like it happened yesterday, I was at church, counting down the seconds until New Years. 5…4…3…2…1… Happy New Years!!! I was excited about 2017; I mean I am excited about every year. I made some promises to myself as well as committed to accomplishing all my goals. I looked at the list of things I set out to achieve in 2017 and I recognized that there were certain goals that carried over from 2016 and 2015. I had to ask myself, why was I not achieving certain goals? After I reflected for a while, I came to realize the goals I wanted to achieve required a new me.
Certain things we can accomplish as we are but other goals take us beyond our comfort zone and demands us to change who we are. The thing is a lot of us have amazing goals that we would love to achieve but a lot of us are not willing to change in order to make those goals our reality. Albert Einstein defined Insanity as, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I wanted a better life but I was the same Mike. I continued to do the same thing each year with inconsistent changes. I had to understand that in order to go somewhere I have never gone, I had to do something I have never done.
I remember being at the mall and I said, “ I am tired of window shopping.” I feel that most people do the same with their life. We look at other people life and say I would love to live my dreams and pursue my passion just like him or her, only to come to the realization that we can achieve the goals and the dreams we have for ourselves; we just have to make the necessary changes. Stop wishing for the life you want and begin to work for the life you desire. How many times are you going to binge watch on Netflix? How many times are you going to sit down with your friends and just talk about your dreams? How many times are you going to push your goals to the side? Is it worth your purpose? Is it worth you putting it off for another year? I established that it was not worth me putting off another year; I studied my life and sought guidance. Through my ability to self-assess and wisdom from others, I was able to develop steps to get me over the hump.
Here are some steps I am applying in my life, hopefully they will help you in yours.
1. Where are you? Be honest. June is here and my mentor reminded me that we are at the halfway mark of this year. Where do you stand in regards to accomplishing your goals? In his book 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John Maxwell points out the importance of knowing where you stand currently in life. It is hard for us to receive direction to our destination if we are not honest about where we stand. Where do you stand right now in your life? I believe it is important because when you are honest about where you are in life, it will provide a better direction for you to arrive at the goals that you have set. When I am going anywhere that requires directions, I noticed that even though I have a destination, the GPS must know where I am located to give me directions. A lot of people pray, speak to mentors, and seek advice from friends but it will be hard for anyone to provide guidance if you are not honest with yourself about where we are in life. Once you have established where you are, you can get the guidance, and know the adjustments that need to be made.
2. Keep first things first. I was challenged to set at least two daily goals. I accepted the challenge but I struggled completing the goals. I had to reflect and see why I was missing the mark. Life will hit you, things will come up, and there are a million things competing for your time. Whatever it takes, even if it is staying up later or waking up earlier, see to it that the goals are completed. Ray Lewis once said, “Greatness is small things done well, day after day.” In order for you to accomplish the big goals you need to accomplish small, daily goals. All the distractions will still be there when you achieve your dreams but the opportunity to achieve your dream will not; keep your eyes focused on the prize.
3. Forgive yourself. We all mess up in life and it will be easy for us to go the sidelines and think this is not for us. I had a situation take place and I began to handle it the way I would usually handle every situation. Then I realized if I handle it the wrong way it will lead me in the wrong direction. Instead I choose to bounce back during those times, learn from my bad decision and forgive myself. I believe God has our back and one thing I noticed in the Bible is that God never asked for us to be perfect. You will mess up but that does not define you, what defines you is how you respond.
4. See it through. Remember when you had that dream, received that idea, or set that goal? You probably felt great and you wanted to tell the world? Whether you told everyone or you did not bother to tell anyone; I want you to see it through. Even when life hits you, see it through. Even when you mess up, see it through. Even when you do not feel like getting up, see it through. When you see it though it will allow you take your focus on what you are going through and focus on where you are going to.
5. Do not let success be your enemy. Rick Warren said, “One of the biggest threats to tomorrow’s success is the success that happened today.” Sometimes when we accomplish a goal, we take our foot off the gas. Do not let success make you complacent, let it propel you forward. Kobe Bryant once said, “You cannot win today’s game with yesterday’s points.” Continue to strive because the greats know that you do not arrive, greatness is a continuos journey.
6. Do not compare yourself. During a lunch with some of my friends, we spoke about how when we were younger we did not have a myriad of social media platforms. When I was a teen I had MySpace (do not judge my age lol) but now we have a multitude of social media outlets where people can post their life and others can see. When you see someone winning in life, do not compare their life to yours, instead cheer for them and let their success motivate you, do not let it discourage you. Dave Howell quoted, “Champions know that their only true competition is themselves; once you compare yourself to others you have already lost.” Instead of getting down, do what my pastor once said and say, "I'm next."
7. No talk, all action. Sometimes we talk about our dreams so much that our talking takes place of our actions. Let achieving your goals replace your talking about your goals. In Proverbs it says, “All hard work brings profit but mere talk leads to poverty.” Albert Einstein would make a public announcement about an invention and spent the rest of his time working to create it. Yes, your words have power but your actions give your dreams life.
My bro Al always says, "let's move, being stagnant is never God's plan but a lot of people decide to be." Move towards your purpose and your dreams. Don't wait for it, go for it. Before you know it, you will be counting down 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... to bring in 2018. Yes you may have messed up a lot this year but you still have another half to get it right; just focus on one day at a time. Matthew 6:34 says, "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."
While on Instagram one day, I scrolled past one of my friends posting about someone that everyone knew and loved dearly who passed away. His death was sudden and shock to the community. Everyone reflected on how they were just with him and now he is gone. His death reminded me about how short life can be. It also reminded me that we do not know when we will breathe our last breath. When you take your last breath, will you have rewards or regrets? Whenever that moment comes I will not regret a thing but I will have the reward of knowing I left this world empty, I gave my dreams and my purpose all I had. I know you will do the same.
With Love,
Big Bro M!ke