Religion
Goals, planning & backtracking; How to get over the hump
- Details
- Written by Lucy Shaw
Dear Lucy: I have been working on my goals for this year. I have ideas that I know are good and will help me as well as others. But I keep going back thinking about all of the ways I have tried and failed in the past. If I am not thinking about the past, I am thinking about what could go wrong with my plans. Is this just natural when we start to plan a new life?
– Backtracking
Dear Backtracking: To doubt, fear or worry is not natural. It can, however, be habitual. An unruly, undisciplined mind rebels when we begin to change our old ways of being. Perhaps your old way of being was one where you did not trust your own judgment or right to have the desires of your heart.
Make a choice right now. Choose happiness, joy and prosperity as your divine right. Certainly, being made in the image and likeness of God we are entitled to all of the wonderful qualities and attributes of God. Choose those as your inheritance! Doubt, fear and worry means that we don't believe that we can have what God has promised nor the power of God to deliver. We have been thinking this way for a long time so we must persist in thinking a new way.
We often react to life and circumstances instead of responding. To react means that we let our feelings of fear and doubt lead without reasoning through to the truth of God's promises. To respond requires thoughtful consideration, calmness and faith in our capacity to use right judgment.
Being still and choosing how to think and act restores our control over our lives. Habits are automatic actions. They often lead us into places we don't really want to go, doing things we don't really want to do. In the process they steal away our love for self. We don't like the person who is not in control of his or her actions.
So what can you do? With each goal, when you are tempted to be afraid or doubt success do this:
Ask yourself what you would do right this minute if you didn't believe your goal was impossible or if you were not afraid.
Make a list of possible positive choices.
Choose one and DO IT NOW!
Most important, stand guard at the gate of your mind. That means make a decision for the power of good and stick to it no matter what. Half the task of achieving our goals is how we choose to think about them. Staying positive and believing that you can have your hearts desire and that you can be led by Spirit every step is essential. Just stay on the side of the street of positive belief.
Do what seems right in every moment with motives that are pure and good for you and anyone around you.
Lucy
(You can watch Lucy on Channel 17 (Comcast) every Thursday at 10:30 am. (Send your questions to her by U.S. mail to: Heartworks4U, LLC; 4646 Poplar Ave. Ste 201, Memphis, TN 38117 or by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Get your free gift at http://www.heartworks4u.com/)
(For help with the feelings that get in the way of prayer and peace of mind, get Lucy's new book, "BE NOT ANXIOUS." Order it directly from her at 901-907-0260 or from her website.)
