Failure is the opportunity to begin more intelligently.
Henry Ford
A Listening Heart
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Goals give legs to our visions and help break them down into tangible steps. They help identify the actions we need to take and make our dreams less intimidating.
Whether your goals are about relationships, work, spiritual, self-care, finances, home, or leisure, a personal success strategy will help you move forward with your vision and goals.
Such a plan needs to account for unacknowledged wins and past failed goals for new goals to succeed.
3 Personal Success Strategies to Unstick Your Goals
- Acknowledge Past Uncelebrated Wins
What successes have you had in the past? Do you set goals, but you are too busy to recognize or celebrate them?
Lara is a friend of a friend. She is always on the go and striving to achieve the next items on her agenda. Lara is a wife, a mom, and a successful entrepreneur. Last year she founded a non-profit organization to provide homeless women with job skills. Though she is very accomplished, Lara doesn’t seem fulfilled.
Can you relate? Hmmm… I can.
Sometimes we overlook our wins when striving for the next goal and the next one. Such striving can make us feel like we didn’t realize our goals and have no real successes. This attitude can stifle our creativity for new vision and goals. Celebrating your wins will not only refresh you to go forward, but it will also help you cultivate a heart of gratitude.
Since you’ve put in much effort, it’s ok to pause and celebrate past unrecognized goals with scripture and prayer.
Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Proverbs 21:5
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me the tools and wisdom to accomplish past visions and goals you laid on my heart. Thank you for your unconditional love. Instead of striving, please help me practice gratitude and celebrate the little moments. Thank you for your blessings in my life.
Your turn… what are your uncelebrated wins? List them and take a moment to thank God for them. Plan to celebrate in a way that refreshes you.
- Recognize Past Unsuccessful Goals
Do you have past goals that didn’t work out well as you hoped? How do you feel about them? Are you sad or angry?
Talking about goals and getting stuck, my friend Sarah had a goal to lose 30 pounds three years ago. She planned to walk 3 miles 4-6 times a week, eat more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and practice meditation.
She sustained a knee injury two months later and abandoned her plans because of surgery and months of rehabilitation.
If Sarah’s goal is to lose weight this year, she may encounter some resistance. The negative emotions attached to her past unsuccessful goal may threaten to keep her stuck and derail her plans.
She may hear the familiar negative voices taunting her… “what makes you think you can do this? Do you really need to lose weight? What if you fall and injure yourself again? You don’t have time for this now; why bother?”
Sarah reminded herself why she wanted to lose 30 pounds. She acknowledged the negative voices and affirmed herself with God’s word and prayer.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20
When we deal with the emotions linked to past unsuccessful goals, we will experience a release of new insights and a shift in our perceptions.
Prayer: Lord, I know that your plans for me are good. My inability to succeed the first time doesn’t mean I am a failure. Please show me what I can learn from my experience and help me to see opportunities to grow. I release all the negative emotions attached to my past failed goals and bring them under the authority of Christ. Thank you for the lessons I’ve learned through this experience. Use them to strengthen me and for your glory. Amen.
What past failed goals do you need to bring before the Lord to receive his grace and let go?
- Create New Vision and Goals
This year, Sarah’s vision is to fit into her skinny jeans by the summer. Her plan to lose 30 pounds includes walking, strength training, and eating a low carbohydrate diet.
After recognizing her previous unsuccessful attempts, Sarah is ready to move forward with her new vision and goals.
She created a vision board where she envisioned herself in her skinny jeans, 30 pounds lighter. She came up with specific goals and a do-able plan that includes meditation and prayer.
If you want to know more about the system Sarah uses, check out the Renew Your Vision Self-paced course.
With a renewed mindset, commitment to taking action along with scripture meditation, and prayer, you too can realize your goals.
Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Proverb 16:3
Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good Psalm 127:1
Prayer: Father, I surrender my vision, goals, and plans to you. Help me to finish strong and do it all for your glory. Please show me the way to go and help me not to lean on my own understanding. Thank you in advance for sending the right help and advisers when I encounter problems along the way.
What are your goals for the next 90 days, and what steps will you take to accomplish them?
You’ll need a concrete plan of action and constant contact with God through scripture meditation and prayer to carry out your vision and goals.
Achieving our goals in partnership with God will increase our confidence and help us accomplish even bigger goals.
Celebrating past wins and accepting past failed goals are excellent strategies for getting unstuck and fueling your creativity for new dreams and goals.
If you found this post helpful, check out Renew Your Vision Self-paced course.
You may also be interested in Turning Your Vision into Reality and 21 Bible Verses on Goal Setting
