HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope your New Year is starting off well.
Something that is on my heart recently is how we often are talking about what we are doing, and we don't have a lot of conversations around who we are being. Like many of you, I have goals I want to go after both personally and professionally this year. So I took some time last week to pause and reflect. I chose 'being' before 'doing.'
I am learning in life, when I just go and do things, I am often redirected. Taking time to pause and be with God can give me clarity about what it actually is I am suppose to do.
As I prayed about the goals I want to achieve this year, I became aware of a layer we are not focusing on when we set goals. This time of year there is so much talk about setting goals, but there isn't a lot of discussion around the character qualities that we need to practice, that will ultimately help us achieve those goals.
For example, one of my life goals is to have strong relationships. In order to have strong relationships, I need to prioritize my time and plan to spend time with my loved ones. I need to be present and a good listener when I am with them. I need to be willing to be honest and trustworthy. Simply going on a date with my loved ones isn't enough. The character qualities I mentioned are what I need to practice while I am with them to help grow the relationships stronger.
Also, another life goal I have is to be an active elderly woman, wife, and grandparent one day. In order be that, I need to focus on using my time wisely and do what is mine to do to care for my health, like being active and eating wisely, which requires diligence, discipline, determination, and perseverance, today.
You see, we set goals, but that's not enough to help us reach them. What we need to aim for is to build up the character qualities within that will help us achieve those goals.
For me, some of those include:
- prioritizing time for loved ones
- planning
- being present
- being a good listener
- using my words wisely
- using my time wisely
- being diligent
- being disciplined
- being determined
- persevering
I share this with you today because I don't want you to go through another year setting goals and partially achieving them. This year, let's take time to unpack what the actually character qualities are we need to refine, build and practice that will help us actually achieve the goals we set. Also, let's be sure we are setting the wisest goals for ourselves to begin with.
So as we step into this new year, I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.™
Let's be sure to prioritize time with God every day so we can be before we do. May our time with God help us learn more about His quality of character - and inspire us to live more aligned with Him. May we pray for Spirit's help and guidance to help us refine the character qualities within ourselves, so when we get to the end of 2024, we look back with contentment and gratitude, not just about goals we have reached, but more importantly, who we have become within.
To kick start your New Year HERE is a printable to help you uncover the character qualities you need to achieve your goals.
Wishing you a New Year filled with being still with God, faith, peace, joy, and love! And for more encouragement, listen to this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE.
With love and hope,
Shawn