It Takes Courage

I received an email a while back from a friend and in this email was a story of a lady who had started a long time ago to plant one daffodil at a time in a field. Now the field is covered with beautiful yellow daffodils. This story points out that if you start something positive even if it’s small, over time you will build something of beauty. Mark Twain said one time, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore – Dream – Discover.”

You have unique talents and abilities. Every ability and potential power you have was given for a purpose. All it takes is the courage to dream and the courage to set goals. Simply going after your dreams can lead to discoveries never dreamed of before. Do you know what planet we have learned the most about from space exploration? It is the planet Earth. We have learned more about weather, agriculture, geography, and physics. With a dream and goals, knowledge can be gained that helps reach other goals not dreamed of yet.

Think of all the discoveries that have been made over the years. Many of these discoveries were the result of accidents. Those that make new discoveries can relate the unrelated; look for materials, ideas, circumstances, objects, and needs that have not previously been associated. They use their imagination to see how to fill some need or accomplish some purpose that would benefit others.

Let us go back to the Purpose Tool Template at this link. Click on the tab at the bottom labeled List of Dreams and  use this to record any other dreams as you spend extra time dreaming and thinking about this list. Reaching for the stars is risky, but refusal to take that risk sets up a more foolish risk – missing the opportunity to become all you were meant to become. Make evident your devotion to God in your daily activities. Because of Jesus, the Spirit of God is in your heart so you are not confined to devotion only at church but in all that you do. Celebrate God’s care of you by beginning every day, every decision, or every business dealing with God. God’s law helps us to see faults and understand that help is needed. Jesus is that  help and the Holy Spirit gives the freedom to start new, to plan, to think and come up with ideas that make us better. It takes courage to choose a challenging goal and take action to move toward it but once you start, momentum keeps you going.

A good strategy is to improve on weaknesses and reap the benefits of strengths; having the courage to face weaknesses but not being embarrassed about them. Knowing what needs improvement and using this knowledge as a tool to steer you toward your destination.

It not only takes courage to face your weaknesses but it also takes courage to establish values. A tool to help is called the Self-Evaluation Inventory spreadsheet. Take a look at the Purpose Tool Template spreadsheet within the Priorities tab at this link. Record your priorities in the categories column of the Self-Evaluation Inventory spreadsheet and follow the directions for this tool. Here is a link to the template: link which you are welcome to download to your computer and modify. Your priorities are certain attributes you’re aspiring to obtain and maintain. Click on the WK1 tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet. See the Evaluation Category listed and in another column is a place for you to give yourself a score for each day of the week. A score of one would be that I’m failing and a score of five would be going beyond expectations. An example may be that I would like to watch my weight by moderating my food intake. If I want to give myself a better score, I will not eat the extra slice of pizza for dinner. This might bump my score up to a four for that day. It’s similar to a batting average. If you can give yourself 3’s, it’s like having a 300 batting average. It’s a tool to help transform your lifestyle so you develop the habits needed for attainment of your goals.

Next week, I will write about the keys to successfully realizing your God given purpose. The keys are thoughts, plans, desires, confidence, and determination.

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