I heard a beautiful quote the other day. I can’t remember the exact wording, but it went something like this: “It isn’t important that you know what God’s plan is; it’s important that you believe He has one.”
Most surprising was where I heard it—on a commercial for an ABC Family show. I don’t even watch the show. I would expect to hear something that stops me in my tracks from any other number of outlets, but not from that channel. Not that I don’t love that channel, because I do. But I don’t usually go to ABC Family for life lessons.
Anyway, setting aside the source of this phrase, I want to ponder on it for just a moment. We are at the end of one year and at the beginning of another. Are you like me, and shocked at just how many years you have been on this earth? I cannot believe I am about to write 2015 on my checks! It’s astounding.
Are you making goals for what you want to accomplish in 2015? Are you hoping and believing that life will look different one year from now?
I am not going to go into how to make S.M.A.R.T. goals. If you want to know how to do that, please google it. There are a myriad of websites that will explain how to set Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely goals. I wholeheartedly support that.
Today’s post is simply my musings on what is possibly the first step to checking everything off our list this year. Maybe it starts with simply believing.
You may not believe in the Christian God, or in any god. I do. But you don’t need to in order to have faith in at least yourself.
Our natural order is to want to know the ending first. Do you read a great novel and sometimes have to sneak a peek at the last few pages, just to make sure the couple is going to get together in the end? Do you watch a movie and constantly ask what is about to happen, simply because you need to understand why that person is doing that thing right at that moment?
We all wish we could know how our lives are going to progress: When will I get married and who will be my spouse? How many kids will I have? Will I ever reach those great heights in my career that I seek? We think we could handle the lows much more gracefully if we knew the ending. The truth is we could only weather the storms if we knew the rainbow was a guarantee. What if the ending isn’t what you have planned? Won’t it still be just as or even more amazing than you ever dreamed?
Very rarely does anything in my life go the way I had planned. There always seem to be some bumps and bruises along the way. But every time I am amazed at how the thing I didn’t know I wanted is so much better than the thing I thought I had to have.
So while you are mapping out your life for 2015 and setting those goals, please remember this first step all throughout the year: Have faith in the plan itself.
My faith will be in knowing that my God has a plan for me and that He always keeps His promises. Your faith may be in knowing that you set a plan and that the universe or coincidences will align to keep your plan on track. Instead of scratching and clawing your way through 2015 to accomplish every little detail, by golly, set the plan and take it one step at a time. And then trust in the plan to work.
One other little step to accomplishing your goals is to say them out loud—to yourself and to others. Putting them out there to other ears adds some weight to the goals and makes you feel a little bit more on the hook for getting them done. So please feel free to share in the comments below your goals for 2015. We at the Ms. in the Biz community would love to encourage you and support you all along the way.
Have a wonderful (and safe) New Year!