The things we make time for are the things we become.

As we get ready to go into another year, I look back and have some regrets for some of the goals I set that I did not accomplish.  However, I also look with satisfaction not only the goals that I was able to accomplish, but the ones that I only made progress on.

I have found that if I set goals, I will usually make some progress toward those goals even if I do not fully complete them.  The tendency at the end of the year is to look at goals as either completed or not.  However, I know that if I had not set goals at all because of the excuse that I probably would not complete them, I would have done nothing toward them.  Because I set goals, though, I made some progress and some progress is better than none!

Once again, I am planning my new year and setting goals.  One key thought keeps coming back to my mind as I set goals and begin working on them.  (I usually set my goals at the end of December and begin working on them so that I have a head start on the New Year rather than starting on the 1st.)  "There is always time for the thing you do, FIRST."

I have some things that I want to accomplish in my life, and the only way that I can get them accomplished is to discipline myself to create the time to do them.  For me, this involves getting up early.  In order to not float with the "mediocre majority" and accomplish what I feel God wants me to do in life, I have to get up early and get started.  Once I get up, I have to carefully remember that I will always have time for the things that I choose to do first.  Therefore, I prioritize my day around doing those things first that I really want to get done, and leaving the other things for another time if necessary.  For example, today after my quiet time, I am spending time writing and then working out, before anything or anyone else can place demands on my day.  If the baby wakes up in an hour, that's okay, (but not preferred:) because I already have done the most important things that I need to do for the day.

Recently I read the book, "The Miracle Morning," and it gave me so much more inspiration for using this New Year wisely.  I encourage you to buy the Kindle version and read it for yourself.  It talks about how one chooses to be part of the "mediocre majority" or makes the choices that are painful but necessary to excel in life.  One quote that I already posted on my Facebook page motivates me to accomplish those things that I really want to do.  "Successful people aren't born that way.  They become successful by establishing the habit of doing things unsuccessful people don't like to do.  The successful people don't always like doing these things themselves;  they just get on and to them."  Don Marquis.

This quote really impressed me because we tend to use excuses when we see others living how we would really like to be living.  "I wish I could do that or be that."  In reality, in the majority of cases, we really could, we just don't want to badly enough.  Those who are doing the things that we would really like to be doing almost always weren't born that way.  They just simply made the hard choices to make habits that led to a lifestyle that we sit and envy and convince ourselves that we are not made to have.

This new year is an opportunity to realize the accomplishments that have only been dreams in our mind.  The only way to accomplish them, however, is to go through the pain of getting there.  I am finding out, however, that if I really want something, I can always make time to do it, especially if I do it first!

One last thought on accomplishing the things that you feel would please the Lord this year.  Find a way to motivate yourself to keep on task.  For example, I enjoy giving, but Rick normally does this for our household.  He writes the checks although we talk often together about who we want to give to, and how much.  Recently I decided that since I enjoy giving so much, I could use this as a motivation to accomplish the goals that I really want to see done this year.  Now, I have a set amount for each day that I can personally give to the cause of my choice.  If I meet my goal for the day, I get to set aside that amount, and at the end of the month, I get to write the check for the mission that I have chosen to give to that month.  This way, when I'm thinking about being lazy and choosing to do less than what I have already decided it would be best for me to do, I know that someone else is going to hurt.  They may not know it, but I will, and it motivates me to get myself in motion.

Don't be afraid to set goals!  It's better to be moving slowly on the right track than to not even be on the right track.  God can work through those who are already working!  Blessings on your new year!