Skip to main content

Dreams vs. Goals

Let's talk about dreams. And goals. After all, a little way in to the new year, that's what everyone is talking about, right?

I am a dreamer. I always have been. As my parents will laughingly confirm, my ability to get completely lost in my own little dream world is pretty solid. Although I have outgrown the stage where this leads me to leave pencil marks on door frames (apparently, I was a princess locked in a tower and the pencil was my key) or spend 10 minutes washing one plate, I can still happily entertain myself for long periods of time with nothing but my own thoughts.

I like my dream world. Everything works out just the way I want it to there! In real life...not so much.

That doesn't stop me from having "in real life" dreams, though. I may have to wait longer than I planned or it may look different than I imagined, but I think dreams are important. Dreams keep us moving forward, keep us growing, give us purpose and hope. I believe dreams are something God gives us, and that makes them something good.

Lately, however, I've been contemplating the difference between dreams and goals. See, my dreams are good. But most of them are things I don't really have complete control over. I want to get married, have kids, see all of the children and teenagers I pour my life into walking with Jesus in bold faith and deep love for Him...there are things I can do to work towards those dreams, but in the end I can't make them happen.

Goals, on the other hand, are things I can control and can make happen. I've spent a good deal of my life "wishing I could..." with SO MANY THINGS to fill in the blanks. I wish I could speak Spanish. I wish I could lose weight. I wish I could somehow be on time, all the time. I wish I could--well, you get the idea. But these are things I can do. I can set a goal, put in the work, and make it happen. The fact that I can't speak Spanish, still need to lose weight and am so rarely on time is 100% my fault.

And I think that's where I have to start. Accepting responsibility for the things I can change. Recognizing that if I want to get to point B, I'm going to have to do something about it. Jesus does amazing things in my life, absolutely, but I can't just sit around and wait for Him to build me into my dream person. That's where goals fit in. Goals that I can break down into steps that are attainable.

So this year, I'm not just dreaming. I've got some goals to work towards. Thirteen days into 2020, I have already experienced both failure and success. I expect that's just how it goes, so I plan to keep moving forward. Keep taking those steps, leaning hard on Jesus and His strength all the way. I'm excited to see, not "where this year takes me", but where I take me this year.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sex & "the good Christian single"

 Yep. Buckle up, we're going there. This post might get a little uncomfortable, but it's a topic that can't exactly be ignored! And, as I said at the beginning of this little "series" earlier this year, "my goal is to be uncomfortably honest, vulnerable, real, raw." Besides, the world is talking about sex all the time , and if we as Jesus-followers don't talk about it from a Jesus-perspective, the world is going to shape the views and opinions of sex for an entire generation. Or two. Or more.  Let's start with some basic statements just for the sake of clarity: 1. Sex is God's idea, and it is good.  All through the Bible, from Adam & Eve being "naked & unashamed" in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2), to the graphic love poetry of Song of Solomon, to Paul exhorting husbands and wives to freely share their bodies with one another in 1 Corinthians 7, the Bible paints a picture of sex within marriage being good, beautiful, encourag...
Post a Comment
Read more

Six Flags!

Some would no doubt consider it a strange "Sabbath kick-off", but for me a trip to Six Flags Over Texas (in Arlington) was just the ticket! Between my love of roller coasters, the nostalgia this place holds, and the healthy benefits of fresh air and sunshine, it was fantastic. Oh, and the company was pretty great, too. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have my "OG Six Flags fam" along--aka, my family and the Vests, of course! Six Flags has always been about facing and overcoming fear for me. I was a very fearful/timid child, and as an adult looking back I think one of the best things my parents did for my little anxious self was take me to ride roller coasters!! (I would insert the "tears of joy" emoji here if I could!) I was coaxed and cajoled on to rides I was hesitant about, but never forced to ride anything--though I waited in every line with them and I was not allowed to complain. Every year, there were rides where ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hey, it's tomorrow!

OK, so I said that a post was coming tomorrow. Hey, it's "tomorrow"! So what that it's now tomorrow's tomorrow...and perhaps now I have you sufficiently confused that you won't care that I'm a day off when I said I was going to post. *vbg* So, let's see...longer and newsier. Well, longer won't be difficult; I think this post is already longer than Tuesday's. Newsier, on the other hand...when nothing much is going on, that one can be hard to accomplish! So if the events of my life start to sound boring or mundane, just remember this: it's a lot more fun to live it than to talk about it! I've almost got all my Christmas shopping done; now it's just a matter of finishing the making/putting together somehow of various and sundry items. Once I have a present for everyone in my immediate family actually in my possession, I'll wrap them and put them under the tree. I like being the first one to put gifts under the tree; but I like to...
6 comments
Read more