Quick question, are you running your mouth or working your goals? We all have things we want to accomplish. For some of us in life realizing what we want to accomplish comes later than others or it may come in baby steps. It is true that people change careers  an average of 5 to 7 times throughout their life. Sometimes people need change, some may not feel fulfilled in one career field, and some people change careers because they need a new challenge in life. No matter the reason, when switching up things in our life we MUST have a plan. There’s nothing more frustrating than to keep being in the same position year after year after year after year. How devastating it is to feel stuck! So how do we get unstuck? In real life, things become so much clearer in life when we write things down. It seems old school but it is so true.

Okay, so let’s say we subscribe to this idea of writing it down, where would we start? There’s an acronym, S.M.A.R.T goals. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable or Achievable, Realistic or Relevant, and Time bound. So putting this more in counseling viewpoint, think about what you want to happen and go backwards. Ask questions like what would it take for me to get there, where do I start, who do I need to get connected with in order to make this happen, how long will I give myself to accomplish this, how long will this take to accomplish, how will I know I’m  on the right track?  Seriously, ASK ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS!! WHY? Because if you are not keeping track of your goals and how you will accomplish them, you will get lost in the sauce (or minutia for my more sophisticated readers). Once you have written down what you want, then the real work starts.

Nothing dampers the joys of an optimist more than the harsh realities of life. There will be days when just flat out don’t feel like working on life, forget your goals, LIFE! Don’t get me wrong, we all need days for rest and relaxation, but when you are working to get to the next level you have to do something to feed that goal everyday! When feeling like you don’t want to move out of your bed, glance at Proverbs 13:9, “A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.” Take a glance at Proverbs 20:4, “Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at harvest.”  Listen, this will get us off out butts because, in real life, who wants to be the lazy person that the scripture is referring to? Goals don’t get themselves accomplished, we have to work them. What happens when we have been working our goals but it seems like nothing is happening.

A “part” of a  scripture that people love to quote is Habakkuk 2:2  “Write the vision, and make it plain”. Here’s the thing, there’s so much more to that scripture. Please, by all means read on to the 3rd verse, “This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,  for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” Things don’t happen overnight. Remember how we got to the smart goals, writing down where we want to be and working backwards. We do that so that we can have a reference to look at when starting to feel discouraged. Work you plan and keep the faith. Write it down and DO THE WORK!

P.S. If you need a little more inspiration to get up and work your goals here’s one more proverb. This one is from 20:13 “If you love sleep, you will end in poverty,. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat.” As always the scripture is coming from the New Living Translation. Go out and be great!

Yours Truly,

Ms. Jackson