The winds of change....

Have you ever looked at a child with wonder and awe of how simply they see the world?  How they can continually change their minds on what they want their profession to be?  Most of the time, children are viewed as fickle by how quickly they change their minds.  One minute, they want to be a doctor, the next a police officer, and the next, they want to own their own restaurant.  And often as adults, we can get a bit condescending with them by how quickly they change their minds.  We call them immature because they don't think about all the work it would involve.  They think of something desirable, and they decide that's what they want.

When you do this to a child, you inadvertently create negative connotations about them changing their minds.  We know that all too soon, children will grow up.  They will become more stable in their decision processes, and we will call them mature and knowledgeable for doing so.  But I challenge you to take a step back.

Think back to when you were a child.  Think back to the dreams you had for your adult life.  Have you achieved those goals?  Do you even have goals anymore?  Are you living your life INTENTIONALLY? I know that there have been many times in my adult life that I've reached a proverbial dead end.  And it always caused me to jump to the next idea.  And then the next, and the next.

But in the last few months, I've really done some soul searching.  I've looked at all the puzzle pieces of my life.  And while, yes... every point has been beneficial to where I am today, I would reach that wall.  I would get frustrated, and it would permeate into every aspect of my life.  I was a product of unintentional living.  I had grown up and while I was unhappy, I just thought that was the way life was.

It doesn't have to be this way!  I'm taking the steps to change my life, completely.  It involves every aspect of my life.  I'm not going to lie, it can be daunting - To take that step of faith and to examine your goals.  Their will be discouragement.  People may think you're crazy for this (what seems like a) sudden change, but you will find support and affirmation.

When you examine people that have bettered themselves, what do you see?  You see people like Bill Gates, and the late Steve Jobs.  You see all star athletes like Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and many others.  You know what all those people have in common?  They all had goals.  They didn't let other people hold them down.  They choose to keep trying.  Because they knew that while the world would try to beat them down and try to make them give up, they got to decide.  They made the choice from within.

Michael Jordan was cut from his junior high basketball team because he wasn't good enough.  What if he had taken that as a complete failure and choose to never try again?  No one would have ever known him.  But instead, he worked hard.  He turned what could have been perceived as a failure into a stepping stone to try harder.  He didn't let discouragement win.

As we move into the next year, I challenge you to live intentionally.  To set some goals.  And pray for guidance.  Because if you aren't changing, you're sinking.  The world is moving forward.  If you're stuck in the same place, you are only falling more behind.  Don't go to the grave unfulfilled.  Speak positively over yourself and what you want to do and go for it.