I was 18 years old when I first got married. EIGHTEEN!! I was just a baby. (Mom, Dad....why did you let me do that? LOL) What in the heck did I know about ANYTHING? I see people around me who are 18 and I can't help but think, that was me at that age except I was getting married and moving a thousand miles from home to work in the ministry. Crazy right?
I still remember one day, after a month or so of living in our little building (it was hardly a house but rather a square building in the back yard of our pastor's property--and I actually LOVED it so don't get me wrong here) and I had an epiphany. The thought came to mind that, if we are going to eat dinner tonight, it will be me who has to make it. I know, you're thinking, huh? Or maybe you're thinking DUH!! But seriously, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been so used to my whole life, coming home from school or whatever and asking, "What's for dinner?". That's what my mom was for! I never had to take that responsibility on myself. But here I was, all of a sudden thrown into the world of adulting and no one was going to come and make me dinner. It was my responsibility now!
I don't know if I'm portraying fully the weight of that realization that day, but it was really eye opening. If we were going to have a clean house, it was up to me. If we were going have washed clothes, it was up to me. If my husband was going to have ironed shirts and food on the table to eat, yep.....ME. Melissa, welcome to the real world and to the world of being ALL GROWN UP.
I recently had a similar thought in my life. Not the same thought because after over 20 years of living on my own as an adult, I totally get this concept now! But I realized recently that no one is going to come to my door and change my life for me.
Let's say that again to make sure we got it: NO ONE IS GOING TO COME TO MY DOOR AND CHANGE MY LIFE FOR ME.
In much the same way, this thought hit me like a ton of bricks. There is no door to door Life Changer that knocks at your house and says, "Excuse me ma'am, I'm here to make all of your dreams come true." That would be kind of creepy nowadays anyway!
I realize that I can set all of the lofty goals I want, and even write them out twice a day, but if I'M not taking action to get them accomplished-- THEY WON'T GET ACCOMPLISHED. I can also hope and dream about all kinds of cool stuff, but no one is going to drop it off on my doorstep wrapped up in a bow. If it's going to happen, I have to be the one who makes it happen.
One of my goals/dreams is to write a book. I can hope and dream about that all day long, but unless I'm sitting down at my computer and actually typing out words IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
I want to be a successful coach someday. I want to be able to do that full time and have the ability to work from home. Guess what? No one can do that for me. I have to put in the work to get there.
What is it that you desire most for your life? What goals or dreams do you have? Write them out. And write them out everyday. Heck, even twice a day. But remember one thing: writing them out won't make them happen. It's up to YOU. No one else can do it for you. You can't sit back and leave your future and your destiny up to others or the universe or whatever. You have to take ACTION. And the BIGGER the goals you have, the BIGGER the action you must take. Yes I do believe that God is a huge factor in all of this. But He expects you to do the work down here on earth. He may be the One allowing it, or maybe He blesses you with opportunities that open doors. But, you still gotta take action.
One more thing. If you have big, lofty, audacious goals that make you uncomfortable because they are so dang big.....PERFECT. That means they are the kind of goals that you should have. Dream big, my friends. Shoot for the stars. But keep in mind that you will have to stay consistent and persistent in achieving them. Rarely do these things happen overnight. But they happen because EVERY SINGLE day you did what was needed to get there. As a good friend of mine says, "Think incremental, not monumental" when it comes to working towards your goals. Small, consistent steps, each and every day are what create HUGE results.
So stop sitting around waiting for it to happen. Don't wait for someone else to do it for you. Go get it done! Now is the time. Let's go!
