Today is June 30th. We are now officially half-way through 2016. It's time for renewal! It's time to evaluate our goals and renew our commitment to achieve them. If you have not moved forward with your goals this year, now is a good time to set a strategy. If you did not set any goals earlier this year, now is a great time to think about what you want to accomplish in 2016. Rather than thinking negatively ("half the year is already gone with nothing accomplished"), think positively! You still have six months left this year to accomplish your goals!
What's the big deal about "renewal"? In contract law, renewal is a big deal. In my career, I have reviewed hundreds of contracts, carefully scrutinizing the termination provisions. If we don't renew the contract, the obligations will fall away and disappear when the contract terminates. If we want the obligations to continue, we need to renew the contract and keep it alive.
Similarly, if we want to keep our goals alive, we need to renew our commitment (obligation) to achieve them. If you have not achieved a particular goal, you are not ready to terminate that obligation. You need a renewal!
One of my goals for 2016 is to finish writing a book. The purpose of "Goal Setter's Journey" is to share my experience. As an update, I completed a Vision Board for one of the books I am writing. I have written the first four chapters, as well as the final chapter that will end the book. I thought it was a great, original idea to write the last chapter and work toward it, but now I understand that many screenwriters and novelists write the end of the story first! It really makes sense to do it that way. If you want to make sure you arrive at your destination, it is best to have that destination in mind.
So, I needed to fill in the middle chapters. On the Vision Board, I wrote down all the things I wanted to include in the book. With everything in front of me on the board, I was able to work on the chapter titles and sequencing. The Vision Board helped me to see the "big picture"! Now I have a framework and I can continue to write the chapters.
If you seek to renew your goal commitment, make sure you have the "destination" in mind. Have a picture in your mind of the goal you want to achieve. And ask God to help you achieve it!
Devotion
O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! Jeremiah 32:17
Prayer:
Lord, our renewal comes from you. Uplift our hearts and refresh our spirit. Help us not to waste the precious time that you have given to us. Help us to renew our commitment to achieve our goals, and with your power, help us to get there! In Jesus' name, Amen.
© 2016 Linda Lijewski
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Mindset
Our personal mindset is an important tool that can help or hinder us in our efforts to reach our goals. Perhaps the most productive thing we can do in our goal journeys is to evaluate our mindset. I did this a few years ago after reading a book about mindset. The book made a deep impression on me, and I decided to take a personal inventory of my mindset in each area of my life.
I created a Personal Mindset Inventory Worksheet comprised of four sections. Section I included a list of personal (home- and family-related) areas. Section II included a list of professional (work-related) areas of my life. On the left side, I enumerated all of the areas that I wanted to include in these two sections. On the right-hand side, I included two columns, one for "growth" and one for "fixed" (no growth). For each area that I had listed in Sections I and II, I put a checkmark in the column that I felt corresponded to my mindset in that area. I was really surprised at the result! I considered myself to be a growth-mindset-oriented person, but I discovered quite a few fixed mindset areas in which I was making no progress in my life.
In Section III, I listed all of the fixed mindset areas that I had identified in Sections I and II. I analyzed each area and wrote down the reason that I believed I had a fixed mindset in that area. Some of the reasons were: (1) believing it was impossible; (2) "it's always been done that way"; (3) procrastination; (4) lack of humility to recognize that the area needed change; and (5) lack of a plan or strategy to move forward. So, for example, my personal area of writing books fell into number (3), and my personal area of losing weight fell into numbers (1) and (5). Not deleting e-mails from my overloaded personal e-mail inbox fell into number (2)!!!
Finally, Section IV listed the specific goals that I decided to set. I pulled the goals from the results in Section III. Because I had identified the reason for lack of progress in those areas, I was able to think about a strategy and resources that I needed to move forward. Next to each goal, I listed small steps that I could take to begin to accomplish the goal. This Personal Mindset Inventory Worksheet has really helped me to set goals for the last few years, and it has helped to ensure that I identify areas in my life every year that may be in need of change and growth.
I believe that everyone has growth and fixed areas in their lives. I am willing to bet that even the most successful, growth-minded people have areas in their lives that they seek to improve. After all, humility is a key quality of a growth-minded person! Someone who is growth-mindset-oriented always seeks to learn and improve and change.
Jabez, in the Old Testament, had every reason to have a negative mindset about his life. Even his name meant "pain." But he had faith in God, and the bold prayer of Jabez (see below) reflects his faith and his growth mindset. Note the last part... "And God granted his request."
Devotion
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Prayer:
Lord, we ask you to reveal to us our mindset in the areas we need to change in our lives. Help us to take a personal inventory, in humility, and to seek your help to set our goals. Help us to plan and make a strategy to reach our goals. Give us wisdom and strength. Help us to accomplish what you want us to accomplish. Give us the courage to pray with specificity, as Jabez did. We ask that you bless us in our goal journeys and increase our faith as we move forward. In Jesus' name, Amen.
© 2016 Linda Lijewski
I created a Personal Mindset Inventory Worksheet comprised of four sections. Section I included a list of personal (home- and family-related) areas. Section II included a list of professional (work-related) areas of my life. On the left side, I enumerated all of the areas that I wanted to include in these two sections. On the right-hand side, I included two columns, one for "growth" and one for "fixed" (no growth). For each area that I had listed in Sections I and II, I put a checkmark in the column that I felt corresponded to my mindset in that area. I was really surprised at the result! I considered myself to be a growth-mindset-oriented person, but I discovered quite a few fixed mindset areas in which I was making no progress in my life.
In Section III, I listed all of the fixed mindset areas that I had identified in Sections I and II. I analyzed each area and wrote down the reason that I believed I had a fixed mindset in that area. Some of the reasons were: (1) believing it was impossible; (2) "it's always been done that way"; (3) procrastination; (4) lack of humility to recognize that the area needed change; and (5) lack of a plan or strategy to move forward. So, for example, my personal area of writing books fell into number (3), and my personal area of losing weight fell into numbers (1) and (5). Not deleting e-mails from my overloaded personal e-mail inbox fell into number (2)!!!
Finally, Section IV listed the specific goals that I decided to set. I pulled the goals from the results in Section III. Because I had identified the reason for lack of progress in those areas, I was able to think about a strategy and resources that I needed to move forward. Next to each goal, I listed small steps that I could take to begin to accomplish the goal. This Personal Mindset Inventory Worksheet has really helped me to set goals for the last few years, and it has helped to ensure that I identify areas in my life every year that may be in need of change and growth.
I believe that everyone has growth and fixed areas in their lives. I am willing to bet that even the most successful, growth-minded people have areas in their lives that they seek to improve. After all, humility is a key quality of a growth-minded person! Someone who is growth-mindset-oriented always seeks to learn and improve and change.
Jabez, in the Old Testament, had every reason to have a negative mindset about his life. Even his name meant "pain." But he had faith in God, and the bold prayer of Jabez (see below) reflects his faith and his growth mindset. Note the last part... "And God granted his request."
Devotion
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Prayer:
Lord, we ask you to reveal to us our mindset in the areas we need to change in our lives. Help us to take a personal inventory, in humility, and to seek your help to set our goals. Help us to plan and make a strategy to reach our goals. Give us wisdom and strength. Help us to accomplish what you want us to accomplish. Give us the courage to pray with specificity, as Jabez did. We ask that you bless us in our goal journeys and increase our faith as we move forward. In Jesus' name, Amen.
© 2016 Linda Lijewski
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