I am prone to being one of the laziest and most demotivated people I know. But I am also one of the most ambitious. It’s hard to reconcile the two especially when disappointment, rejection, low self-esteem or lack of opportunity is thrown into the mix. But I believe that you can not only thrive on momentum but create it too. Here are a couple of pointers that have helped me out along the way. They are mostly from my pastors or wise friends and they are the best bits of advice- those you come back to time and time again.
Decide on your dreams
Be specific. Make a plan, list them. Do what it takes to give them some shape. For ages I knew I wanted to change the world, do some good but for whom and what that would look like? That’s still in formation.
Ensure your motive is right
Search your heart and make sure the motive is pure. Don’t do things out of selfish ambition, greed, lust, or anger. In my experience (and I’m willing to bet, yours) it’s never a good idea, it never ends well and mostly it ends up hurting people including yourself. I’ve made the mistake of acting with all of those motives but since realigning my faith more seriously with what the Bible teaches I have rediscovered the power and importance of acting out of love, grace, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, patience. It’s now my aim to forgive faster than I anger, love faster than I hate etc. It may not be fastest route to worldly ‘success’ but it will guarantee a deeper satisfaction, which brings me nicely onto my next point.
Decide on your marker for success
For many people it will be money, possessions, a nice house, a flash car or a handsome husband. For me it’s advancing God’s kingdom. It’s loving people whoever they are and being Jesus to people who don’t yet know him. It’s being sold out to the calling God placed upon my life and living that out. Walking the path I was born to tread. I haven’t fully worked that out yet but I know the passions and talents I have are not there by accident.
Persevere
Contend for your dream; be willing to fight for it. Don’t give up at the first hurdle. Don’t allow people to tell you you’re too young, inexperienced or under qualified. It is God that qualifies you- you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13) When things get tough and the money dries up or the odds are against you get up and fight some more. Pray about it, believe in it.
Finally I think it’s important to note that nothing is achieved without practical application. All this talk of contending and fighting is codswallop without a bit of pragmatism. Ideally you need 3 parts vision, 4 parts faith, 2 parts hope and 2 parts practical application. Put SMART goals in place. A SMART goal is a brilliant acronym for how to achieve said goal. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, andTimely. These five elements should help you whittle down you big dream into bite size digestible and less daunting chunks. Give it a go. Create a wave in your life and see who surfs it with you. You never know who’ll be the next agenda setter, generation shaper or world shaker!
No comments:
Post a Comment