Long term. Short term. Career. Financial. Physical. Spiritual. When people start talking about goals my hands start to sweat. My heart racing as my brain runs the obsessive thought process of analyzing all the ways I can't or won't succeed at my goals. Usually when I set out to put a goal down on paper (not just rolling around in my head) I'm quite often drawn away from my focus by some other "important" tasks I need to take care of such as cleaning my house, doing laundry or going to the grocery store. What is it that seemingly paralyzes me from taking that leap to risk and onward strain toward the completion of a goal or project? Have you been there too?
To begin with, I would have to say fear of failure (simply because of past experience) keeps me from actively setting and seeking to follow through on goals. I know myself all to well to deny that I have a hard time keeping my focus. Its true that I've begun reading at least 4 books this year, only to leave them half finished as I start another book that I probably won't finish either. I always think I'll pick it up and finish it, but usually I don't. Im really glad that God is NOT like me. His Word promises He will finish what He starts "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6
The next reason I shrink back from goal setting is I tend to be a little perfectionistic in my thinking. This does not mean that I’m anywhere near perfect- but I want my projects to look like what i see in a Midwest Living magazine or pinterest. That’s a problem when there are time constraints, limited skills and financial deficits. There is a hyper focus that must be present to complete something to my liking (I may need to lower my expectations).
Then I have a hard time narrowing down exactly what i want to accomplish and doing things in small bites of time, which would be quite productive if I would just DO IT! It might have something to do with getting bored and losing my drive for completing something that causes me to lose interest and not finish what I started. Did I mention I won’t even start a project because I know I won't finish it... Im starting to see a pattern here.
Today I will set a small goal.
To begin with, I would have to say fear of failure (simply because of past experience) keeps me from actively setting and seeking to follow through on goals. I know myself all to well to deny that I have a hard time keeping my focus. Its true that I've begun reading at least 4 books this year, only to leave them half finished as I start another book that I probably won't finish either. I always think I'll pick it up and finish it, but usually I don't. Im really glad that God is NOT like me. His Word promises He will finish what He starts "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6
The next reason I shrink back from goal setting is I tend to be a little perfectionistic in my thinking. This does not mean that I’m anywhere near perfect- but I want my projects to look like what i see in a Midwest Living magazine or pinterest. That’s a problem when there are time constraints, limited skills and financial deficits. There is a hyper focus that must be present to complete something to my liking (I may need to lower my expectations).
Then I have a hard time narrowing down exactly what i want to accomplish and doing things in small bites of time, which would be quite productive if I would just DO IT! It might have something to do with getting bored and losing my drive for completing something that causes me to lose interest and not finish what I started. Did I mention I won’t even start a project because I know I won't finish it... Im starting to see a pattern here.
Today I will set a small goal.
There you have it! I finished this blog post I started writing more than thee years ago. Whew I feel so accomplished already.
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