Write Goals In Pencil

Recently I had a conversation with a friend whose 2010 resolutions/goals have already gone by the wayside.  And, I just felt her frustration and her almost maddening bewilderment with every fiber of my being.  She made sure that these goals were not just a bunch of must-do's and should do's, but rather things that she really really wants. Still, somehow they didn't stick. Anyone relate? Yeah, probably everyone.

A lady I met on twitter last year was talking to me one day about goals, and she said that goals always require adjustment, tweaking....and for a simple reason.  When we set out to accomplish something, there is just no way for us to anticipate all the variables and how life will go. . . and how the people/circumstances that we don't have any control over will affect us and our goals.

So, I was thinking about all this. And, I hate it when goals that I worked really hard to come up with, write down and start implementing have to be adjusted because sometimes I just want to be like a linebacker and put my head down and plow through. And, sometimes if I do tweak the goals I get tired of it all, it just feels so cumbersome and I begin to feel like it isn't even worth this much trouble.  So, when my friend shared her frustration, I could really really feel it because I'd been there sooooo many times.

Also, I used to think that "tweaking" goals was a cop out, like an excuse for not doing what I said I was going to do, an escape clause. And, so I'd feel like a quitter if I tweeked.  But, then when the goal didn't work out, what would I do?  Quit.  And, then think there was something really wrong with me, when the main thing that was off was the goal AND the fact that I gave up too quickly and didn't tweak it.

I decided in 2010 to not feel threatened anymore by the need to tweak and just tell myself the truth about whatever it is I'm working toward, which in 2010 is to lose 120 pounds.

The truth is:
I cannot tell the future, so my plans will need adjusting.

The truth is:
There are lots of ways to reach the same goal, & finding the one that'll work for me is my first action step.

The truth is:
I need other people to know about what I'm fighting for; they'll see things I don't and cheer me on.

The truth is:
No matter how hard this is, I am worth it. Every. Last. Ounce. Of. Effort. Worth. It.

The truth is:
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

So, if you are feeling at all like my friend (and like me for so many years in a row), I just want to encourage you about the goals you've made at the beginning of this year...don't abandon them now. Pull them out, dust them off and rework them. 

Even if you are still reworking the goals at the end of 2010, you will not have wasted ANY time.  But, if you let them go too easily now, well, December 2010 will still come.