Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.
Charles Richards
A new year represents different things to different people; new hope, a new slate, an opportunity to start all over again. Unfortunately, nothing stays new forever; time takes its toll. The new year 2018 is here and with every ticktock sound that the clock makes, we are gradually nearing its end.
Time keeps going and so should you! Whether or not, 2017 was an amazing year for you, you should be reaching out for the plans you have for 2018. Forget your past successes or failures and choose to make this new year count.
“…this one thing (you should) do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV)
You would agree with me that you do not always wake up feeling ready to smash your goals but I have discovered from experience that if there is anything that keeps a man going, it is a vision (a description or a picture of what you would like to achieve in the mid-term or long-term future). I figure that you have goals for the new year but those plans would not keep you going if you do not transform them into a vision (statement) -. So, how do you transform your goals into a vision? Write down your goals, write what makes each goal important to you, write the benefits of pursuing each goal and assign a time frame to each goal
When your vision is as clear as the above, it puts your life on a certain course.
- It makes you run
“…write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” Habbakuk 2:2 (KJV)
When your goals are clearly written and easily accessible, it keeps you going even on days when you will prefer to remain in bed and do nothing. You would agree with me that even in a physical race, a clearly mapped out track reduces the chances of a detour. Your vision is yours and you are the only one fast enough to achieve it.
2. It directs you
A clearly written out vision directs your passions, determines your daily routine and pastimes. It keeps you in step with the reality of your vision and goals. It helps you know which friends to keep and which ones to let go. Your vision motivates you when nothing else would.
3. It constrains you
A vision determines your appetites. Just like Joseph’s vision and the fear of God kept him from laying with Potiphar’s wife, a vision constrains the things you invest your time in, your eating pattern, the places you go, your spending and so on. For instance, if you have the goal of buying a land or building a house this year, it will definitely constrain your spending. So, if your goals are not yet as explicit as necessary, you might be at the risk of not achieving them this year.
2018 won’t wait. And neither should you.
So, Run, Barry, Run! (yes, I am a fan of the Flash)
