What have You Accomplished So Far?
I just celebrated my thirty-first birthday this month, followed by my wife and I's thirteen year anniversary (yeah). These event's came and went with nothing out of the ordinary except for my thoughts. I've been thinking a lot lately about how I spend my time and being more intentionally with it. The thought accrued to me that at thirty-one unless the Lord will's it differently it's very possible that I may have already lived half of my life!
As a Christian I know the Bible tells us that "life is like a vapor", so I know it's quick and then we are with our Lord. Though the thought of having lived half of my life (whether it's true or not) scares me. As all these thoughts have run through my mind the main question I have is this: what have I (or you) accomplished so far in life? And an even better question is: have I (or you) accomplished everything that you have wanted to?
Time is the one thing that we can't get back and you and I have read many blog posts from Michael Hyatt that encourages us and challenging us with how we spend our time. If you're like me and are not satisfied with what you've accomplished in your life so far, here are five things that will give you a kick-start to accomplishing your goals and dreams:
Stop making excuses: How many times have you talked yourself out of doing something before you even started? You and I have done this many times, listed all the reason's, maybe even arguing with people as to why it won't work. STOP! If we keep using this logic we'll never accomplish anything and at the end of our life we'll be dreaming of what we should have done! Take a chance, make a move, it has to start somewhere.
Take one step forward: If you are going to accomplish anything it has to start with one step forward. You want to write a book, write the first chapter. You want to be more involved at your church, join the choir. In our minds we think in order to accomplish something we have to have it done in one day, that's not true. It starts with not making excuses, then taking that first initial step. You start small and then build momentum.
Starting is not enough: So at this point you've taken that first step, that's great but beware. There's a danger in taking a first step and that is you become comfortable with that initial step. We think I've finally done something so I'm good for a while, and that little bit of time turns into weeks, months, and years. Don't get comfortable, make that first step and then move forward!
Do something every day: A friend of mine taught me this one; whether it's something small, just do something! You don't want to take fifty years to accomplish one of your goals but if you work on it every day, you'll be that much closer to getting it done. The beauty of this is that it will be fresh in your mind, helping you to keep those creative juices following.
Don't settle! I think it's human nature to do something and have it just be good enough. Or if we've tried something and failed we don't want to get back up, we're just happy that we tried. NO, NO, NO! When we fall we look at where we went wrong, get back up and try again. When we've done a project we look it over and if it's not absolutely perfect (in our minds), then we go back and fix things. When someone (even a friend) tells you something is not possible, you politely say "ok" but you're laughing in your mind because you know all things are possible!
It's been eye-opening to think about the time that has passed compared to what I've accomplished, how about for you? We read this blog and others like it to get inspired, get ideas and get help with things in our lives. At some point being a spectator is not enough, we have to take what we learn every day and use this information to pursue our dreams!
So here's the question: will you join me in moving forward? Have you accomplished everything you've wanted to in your life? What are you going to do about it? Let us know in the comments:
