Regarding yesterday’s blog in forming good habits, make time with God an every-day-walkin’-around-kind-of-life habit! It’s a great and essential way to start your day, end your day, and everything in between. So let’s get it started with Words of Encouragement. We will take a look at how persistence with flexibility is key to your dreams.
In reaching toward your dreams and goals, you must be persistent. I’ve probably beat that dead horse by now. But as we persistently pursue our dreams, another essential attribute to accomplishing this is flexibility. You are probably thinking, “What! You just told us yesterday Scott, that it was about routine, discipline and habits!”
You’ve decided to pull the trigger in pursuing your dream. You’ve researched it, you’ve SMART’ed it, you’ve strategized it by putting it on a Critical Path, you’ve prioritized/Hoshin’ed it, and now…..
It’s time to track it. This is called Traction. It is essential that you track your goal. If you are not, how do you know if you are on track. And if you are not tracking, busy’ness blows productivity into another domain. One day leads to the next, one week to another, and then somewhere down the road, no progress has been made, and now that dream is gone. You know the following story….
The Town Jester
A traveler, passing through a quaint small town back in the day, was walking through main street taking in the shops and sites. As he strolled along, he came across one target after another. There were too many to count. Many were on the side of various buildings. Right smack in the middle of each target was an arrow, right in the middle of the bull’s eye. He was very impressed by the marksmanship. So he finally asked one of the shop owners, “Who is the excellent marksman in town, as every arrow has hit its mark?” The shop owner answered, “Oh, we call him the town jester. He randomly shoots arrows and then draws a target around each arrow.” Okay, kind of a crazy way to make a point (no pun intended), but…
“If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.”
Zig Zigler
So set your eye on the mark and, once you have that dream in focus, begin to track it. Is it on mark, or is it off mark? I recommend you ask yourself, or your team, or your employees, this question every week. Let me say again, you should be asking not just your team/co-workers, or your employees, but yourself! You should have a dream that God has put on your heart. And you should be tracking it and being sure you are staying on task to accomplish it.
Adjust and Adapt to Accomplish Your Dream
The key to this element for today? You need to have the ability to adjust and adapt as you work toward your dream. Persistent people have this ability. When the goals are off-track and they hit a roadblock, they adjust and adapt. They are flexible.
Philippians 4:11-13 niv
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Most of us are familiar with Philippians 4:13, but 11 & 12 speaks of Paul’s adaptability. There is so much in scripture about being adaptive and flexible. We could do a week or two study on that alone.
I promise, your journey will feel like a series of dead ends, detours, and adjustments. “Well that’s not very encouraging Scott!” But that’s the truth! Put the other elements of persistence in place (discipline and good habits). If you are willing to adapt and adjust, I have complete faith that you will reach your dream.
Challenge of the day: Is “it” working for you? If so, carry on with persistence. If not, what do you need to adjust? And maybe, just maybe, it’s not what you need to adjust. But maybe it’s who you need to connect with to get your dream back on track. So be it!
