Here’s another Funny Friday from The Bible Is Funny! “When you catch yourself about to cuss: You son of a perverse and rebellious woman!”
“…You son of a perverse and rebellious woman!…” 1 Samuel 20:30 (NIV)
Now that you’ve learned to set SMART Goals and how to take some action steps to achieve those goals, it’s a good idea to create a vision board. A vision board is simply a visualization tool to keep you focused on your life goals and dreams. It’s a vision for your life in the form of a collection or collage of pictures of your goals and dreams to be displayed somewhere where you will see it often.
Proverbs 29:18 says that “where there is no vision, the people perish”. We have to have that vision in front of us to make it happen.
You have to see something before you can have something. For example, you can’t go to a builder and ask him to build your dream home without having something in mind. It’s been said that you become what you behold. The Bible describes one example of this in 2 Corinthians 3:18–that we will reflect like a mirror what we are looking at—just as when we look to God, He transforms us into His likeness.
“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord–who is the Spirit–makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)
There is an amazing, transformational force in what we set our heart (spirit), mind (soul), and eyes (body) on. Many modern theorists and success coaches refer to this transformation as the “Law of Attraction”. The Law of Attraction basically states that you will attract into your life whatever you think about–that your mental perspective will attract external circumstances. This is not a new concept. The Bible encouraged focusing on the positive long before the Law of Attraction theories.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” Proverbs 4:23 (GNT)
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7a (NKJV)
Writing your goals out is an important step in order to achieve them. A vision board just takes it to the next level. Our minds see things in images or pictures as opposed to words. If I were to say the word “bear”, you would probably picture a visual image of a bear in your mind instead of the word “B-E-A-R” spelled out. The idea behind a vision board is to surround yourself with pictures of your visions and dreams so they will eventually become a reality for you. When they are in a place where you can visualize and see them often, they will constantly be in the front of your mind. You will have a visual reminder of your intentions, and your dreams, goals, and vision can become a reality!
Now that we’ve discussed the importance of writing goals and how to set SMART goals, I’d like to give you some practical tips and steps to achieve your goals. It’s very easy just to write goals and set them aside, but we won’t be as likely to follow through and achieve our goals unless we take some additional steps. Adding some action steps and some accountability will significantly boost the probability of reaching our goals, dreams, and vision for our life. Most people leave these steps out and that is often why people don’t see their goals to completion.
To take the next step to achieve our goals, after we have written our SMART goals (made them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, & Time-Sensitive), we should establish some specific actions steps (or short-term goals) for each of them. By working toward completing these “mini-goals” we will reach that bigger goal and achieve our goals in the long term. Making and taking smaller action steps is a way to baby step or snowball into a larger accomplishment by taking off bite-sized pieces.
Even God does things in steps and stages. He knows that we can be overwhelmed easily, and He directs us in steps and stages to success…little by little.
“The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.” Deuteronomy 7:22 (NIV)
“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalm 37:23 (NLT)
We recently talked about the importance of writing your goals down because people who write their goals down are much more likely to achieve them. We learned that writing goals down will help you to be Happy, Healthy and Prosperous! We also discovered that the Bible has several references about the importance of having goals and vision and writing them down. Today I’d like to share HOW to write goals or better yet, how to write SMART goals.
First, when writing SMART goals, it’s important to keep in mind that you need to write out your goals in the form of a positive statement. In other words, write what you want, NOT what you don’t want. For example, if you have a goal to pay all of your bills on time, use positive wording instead of negative wording:
Negative: I don’t want to be late on any of my bills next month.
Positive: I want to pay all of my bills on time next month.
Do you see the difference? It’s the exact same goal, just said in a different way. Your mind tends to lean or focus toward what you think or say. In this case, “Late on my bills” will stand out instead of “pay bills on time”.
It’s kind of like advice parents are given when correcting children. I remember hearing or reading somewhere not to tell a child “Don’t spill your milk” because the brain then unconsciously focuses on “spill your milk”. Guess what, quite often…they spill their milk! On the contrary, if you were to say “Be careful with your milk—be sure it stays in your cup”, they are focused on the positive instead of the negative. It’s almost like a magnet pulling an object toward itself. We are like magnets that will pull what we focus on toward us.
This honestly is just a good life skill anyway! Focus on the positive, not the negative. It’s also scriptural:
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
At the start of each year, many people start thinking about some goals that they would like to accomplish. It might be specific resolutions or things related to a yearly word or theme. However, those goals often get forgotten or written off a few months into the new year. So what’s the point? Why should we be writing goals down? Well, there are numerous reasons and benefits to writing goals down, and I’m going to share some of them with you (along with a few resources and studies to back them up so you’ll know I’m not just making it up).
First, it’s important to set and write goals out because they become our “to-do” list for life. I don’t know about you, but I’m a “to-do” list fanatic (read more about the importance of to-do lists here.) Thus, I thrive on to-do lists (post-it notes, phone reminders, calendar notes, etc.). I LOVE crossing stuff off of lists. Goals are no different. The feeling of achieving a goal and crossing it off of a list is amazing!
It’s also important that we are writing goals down because they give us something concrete to look at, and they serve as a form of accountability. There’s something about writing something down that makes you feel like “ok, now I HAVE to do it”. Writing goals down brings them into sharper focus. Having to write our goals out forces us to clarify them and focus on what it is that we really want.
Writing goals down is kind of like taking a road map on a trip or making a grocery list before going to the store. It helps us to have a focused plan. We can determine how to get there and have a clear direction. It can also save us some stress and help us to be more efficient (saving time and money).
I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m directionally challenged. Therefore I NEED a map (well, now it’s GPS guidance) to get me places…because if I don’t have a map I may end up in Montana instead of Florida if I’m driving to Disneyworld. And the grocery store? Don’t even get me started! I actually have an app on my phone that keeps my grocery list, and it’s even ordered by aisle and has prices I’ve entered for each item so I can stay on budget. I might be a little compulsive, but at least it’s an app now—I used to do an Excel spreadsheet for my grocery list. Don’t judge me. 🙂
Without my list, I’m all over the store, thus wasting time. I buy things I don’t need, thus wasting money, or I forget things I do need, thus wasting time AND money by having to make a second trip back to the store. So, much like my grocery list, if I don’t write down my goals I could be wasting precious time, money, and energy going off in all sorts of wrong directions.
My brother showed this video to me the other day, and I couldn’t stop laughing! I loved the clever caption too… “Bro was falling for 2 whole business days”. Watch your step this weekend!
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” Proverbs 24:16 (NIV)
It’s that time of year when many people set New Year’s Resolutions. Getting a fresh start and taking inventory or assessment (like we discussed here) are not bad ideas. It’s good to take time to rejoice over victories and lessons learned while still seeking out areas needing growth and improvement. A time for personal inventory and new commitments can be important in your accountability to the Lord. We can see many examples throughout scripture where people set apart time for personal reflection.
However, as I’ve mentioned in previous years, I usually like to come up with a yearly theme or word instead of writing resolutions. I have found this to be a lot more powerful, effective, and productive both personally and especially spiritually. I originally got this idea from a Bible devotional that I read on my YouVersion Bible app, called “One Word That Will Change Your Life”. It was a quick, simple 4-day reading plan. This has changed how I usually approach the new year now, and my focus on a yearly theme tends to last all year as opposed to a fleeting, failing, or temporary resolution.
“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.” Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)
“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NLT)
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas this year! Watching this telling of The Christmas Story by Pastor Willie George (video below) is an annual tradition for our family. I hope you enjoy it too!
Additionally, below is another video of one of my favorite illustrations of the story of Christmas: The Christmas Geese. A few years ago I heard this story as an analogy of why Jesus came to earth. I thought it was a perfect explanation that makes Jesus’ incarnation (becoming human) easier to understand. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do as well.
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