Pray, Plan, Prepare and Push
It’s the second-half of the year and many of us will be reviewing our goals for the year to see which ones we have achieved, and those still yet to be achieved.
I encourage you to celebrate yourself on the goals you have achieved so far, even for those things that you did not write down or plan, but God in His mercy and favour has allowed come to pass. All the glory goes to the name of the Lord.
We must remember to express gratitude to God for those things He has done already, for keeping us, for providing for us, for protecting us, for loving us. We give God thanks, in Jesus name, Amen.
The second-half
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (New Living Translation)
The second-half is another chance to achieve your goals for this year – including the ones you had for the first-half but haven’t achieved yet!
I encourage you to make use of this 4-step process to give yourself a higher chance of achieving your goals this second-half.
Pray
Commit your goals to the Lord. Pray about your goals and be open-minded as you pray, read the bible, listen to faith messages on what God may be saying about your goals. For example, is that what God wants you to do at this time? Is that How God wants you to do it?
Remain open, ready to listen to God and align with His instructions even as you take steps forward.
I have also learnt that God can give you tailor-made plans that will work for You and not necessarily what worked for someone else! Be ready!
Plan
I learned of this scripture from my husband last week, and it really blessed me:
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty
Proverbs 21:5 (New International Version)
Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
Proverbs 21:5 (New Living Translation)
If we want to profit, we must Plan + Work Hard. What exactly do you want to achieve, for example, how much money exactly do you want to save? How much weight exactly do you want to lose?
When will you do it by? 1 week, 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, be specific
How will you do it? For example, I will save £15 weekly by taking a packed lunch from home to work 3 days a week or I will aim to lose 0.5kg weekly by having 1500-calories only a day and going to the gym (sounds like a good plan! J). Be specific.
You must also write down in addition to your what, when, how, your WHY. Why are you doing what you are doing – to improve your health, to look and feel better, to travel, to invest in your business? Your Why is key to your achieving your goals because it will help to keep you going!
Prepare
You must prepare in advance – if you plan to take a packed lunch from home to work, then you must shop and prepare the meal before-hand so that you don’t decide not to do it again just because there is nothing to take to work! J
If you want to study for a certification, what do you need to do to prepare?
Preparation is vital to making our goals possible.
Push
Lastly, we must take action.
Yes, it’s important that we pray, plan, prepare, then we must do! What has God put in your heart to do, prayerfully take action, listen to wise counsel and keep moving forward.
God bless you.