Latest / Arise Women of God / How to Set Goals in All Areas of Life
Transcript
- 0:00Have you ever felt like a juggler in the game of life?
- 0:03That every time you get something right, one of the balls falls, maybe you get sick or you feel super connected to your family only to have your spirituality drop away?
- 0:14We are often told that we need to have balance, but trying to give 100% to everything all at once is a recipe for total exhaustion.
- 0:24Today we're going to talk about how how to set goals in all areas of life.
- 0:29And by the end of today's episode, you will have a four category framework built on the life of Jesus Christ himself that will help you prioritize your day without the guilt.
- 0:41We're helping you solve the problem of scattered focus by showing you how to find your next right step while still moving forward in every area that matters.
- 0:53Ordinary women, Extraordinary faith When God calls, we say yes.The Arise Women of God Podcast Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast.
- 1:06I'm your host, Tamara Kay Anderson, and joining me today is Jerusha Smith, a member of our Women warriors of Light Advisory board.
- 1:15And today we're moving from standing still to walking forward.
- 1:19First, we'll talk about the power of focusing on the next right step versus trying to do everything all at once.
- 1:27Second, we'll dive into the stewardship of self care and why rest is a divine requirement for service.
- 1:35Third, we'll share the biblical four category model for a balanced life from Luke chapter two, verse 52.
- 1:44And finally, we're going to share a powerful warrior hack on how to speak your goals as if you had already accomplished them to activate your faith.
- 1:54But let's first start with the one step at a time principle.
- 1:58Honestly, I think just praying for your next right step and focusing on one thing at a time is the best choice, at least for me, because when you scatter your focus, it's very difficult to hone in on that
- 2:16one thing that you really need to do right now because you can't give a hundred percent to it.
- 2:21You can only take one step at a time.
- 2:23If you think about walking, you take one step that moves you forward and then you take the next one.
- 2:30You don't take them both at the same time.
- 2:32I can totally see that.
- 2:33As I set goals this year, I felt impressed to divide it into four different categories.
- 2:40And sometimes I do that and sometimes I don't.
- 2:42There's one big goal, like in business that we're focusing on.
- 2:47Yeah, there's.
- 2:48There's another goal that I do have physically that I'm working on, like going through perimenopause has been really hard for my body.
- 2:57And so there's certain things I'm doing to strengthen my body and stuff like that.
- 3:03And, and then there's goals that I've set spiritually, you know, as far as I want to have a better connection with God.
- 3:11And then there's also my family and, and better memories with them.
- 3:16And so I think it depends on the time of day.
- 3:19It's like I have certain times of day that I work on different things.
- 3:23Does that make sense?
- 3:24Oh, yeah.
- 3:25No, it totally does.
- 3:26Because like in the morning, my next right step is to spend time with God and spend time in scripture and prayer and pondering what he has to tell me, listening.
- 3:37And then my next right step is to go maybe do something around the house, do something with my family.
- 3:45So you have one thing in all areas.
- 3:48It's what's my next right step right now?
- 3:51So right now it could be okay, I'm.
- 3:54I need some self care.
- 3:55I'm going through perimenopause.
- 3:57I, I'm not going to be able to do today if I don't do something.
- 4:01For me, it's all about rhythm.
- 4:04Not a perfect split of your time.
- 4:06If you try to give 100% to four things at 8 o' clock in the morning, you will fail.
- 4:12But if you give 100% to your one thing for that hour, you will win.
- 4:19However, many of us women struggle with this because we feel we have to finish everyone else's to do list before we can take a look at our own.
- 4:29I learned the hard way that neglecting your own needs will eventually stop you from serving altogether.
- 4:36Invincible.
- 4:37This cough turned into bronchitis, which, I mean, I was flat on my back, I had no energy and I literally just had to lay there.
- 4:48I remember laying on the couch and there was this beautiful picture of Jesus above me.
- 4:52And I was looking at the picture of Jesus and I'm like, jesus, I want to be out serving you, but I'm really sick right now.
- 5:02Can't even get up.
- 5:03And it, it put these, this connection in my brain that I haven't forgotten.
- 5:09Now, it doesn't mean I haven't struggled with it, but I haven't forgotten is if Tamara takes care of herself, she can help other people.
- 5:18You know, I can do other things.
- 5:19I can work, I can help my family, I can do all these other things.
- 5:23But if I don't take care of myself, I run myself ragged, I run myself to the point of I can't even get up off this couch, then I don't have the capacity to move in all the other areas
- 5:38of my life.
- 5:39Right?
- 5:39And so I think that is one of the, the challenges we face, especially as women, like you said, is giving ourselves enough grace to say, I need some time for me today, I need some rest.
- 5:53And that is okay, you know, not to feel shamed about it.
- 5:58Because if you pause and think, when God created the world, he took a day of rest.
- 6:03And if it was important for God, then it's important for Tamara.
- 6:07If the Creator of the universe took a day to rest, who are we to think we can run 247 without a break?
- 6:16Even Jesus took naps.
- 6:18We need to follow his example of holistic growth.
- 6:22He didn't grow just spiritually.
- 6:24He grew in every area that makes a human whole.
- 6:28Luke 2:52.
- 6:29Jesus increased in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man.
- 6:34There's some beautiful categories there.
- 6:37You know, he was improving his mind, stature, his body.
- 6:41He had a connection with God and then he had a connection with his fellow men.
- 6:46And I think that those are great categories.
- 6:49If you're looking at setting goals in different areas of your life is maybe look at some of those.
- 6:54Wisdom, stature, God and man.
- 6:58That is your four category roadmap.
- 7:01And remember, these don't have to be giant life altering shifts.
- 7:07Sometimes the best way to accomplish a goal is to piggyback it onto something you're already doing.
- 7:14But it really can be just tiny baby things.
- 7:17One of the goals I had last year was strength training, but I don't really like lifting weights or anything.
- 7:25And so I was brainstorming with God.
- 7:26I'm like, God, you know me, I love walking.
- 7:28It's my favorite thing.
- 7:30And then the thought came into my head.
- 7:32We'll research how you can do that while you're walking.
- 7:34And I thought, oh, that's a great idea.
- 7:36And I ended up buying a weighted vest, the one that you can put in little packages.
- 7:43And you just put them in this little zipper pouch in the front and in the back, and you can add it gradually, a little bit at a time.
- 7:50And so I just thought, that's great.
- 7:52I'll add two pounds, walk with two extra pounds for a couple weeks, then I'll add another £2.
- 7:57And you know, it.
- 7:59It ended up being just tiny.
- 8:01It's such a small change in my routine because I already walk all the time.
- 8:05But it's little things, right?
- 8:07It's just that increase.
- 8:09Yeah, just a little increase.
- 8:11What can I do to increase in this one area right now?
- 8:15That's how you move the needle one small increase at a time.
- 8:20And if you're worried about balance, well, Drusha is going to now share a powerful metaphor about walking that completely reframes how we look at our priorities.
- 8:32She said, I need to find balance.
- 8:34And she discovered by hearing a story from someone else, if you stand on your two feet, you.
- 8:42You just stand there, and you're balanced on your two legs.
- 8:46You're balanced, but you're not going anywhere.
- 8:50You're not progressing.
- 8:52You're not going forward.
- 8:54So she learned to quit apologizing and start, okay, I'm gonna do this with what I feel called to do.
- 9:05Then I'm gonna go over doing this with my family and just kind of back and forth.
- 9:10Because when you start moving your legs back and forth, that's when you walk forward.
- 9:15That's when you move forward and progress and you actually get somewhere.
- 9:20So, ladies, stop apologizing for being out of balance and start celebrating that you are walking, that you are moving forward.
- 9:30To make that walk more powerful, we need to change how we speak about our destination.
- 9:36We need to speak the end from the beginning.
- 9:40For goals.
- 9:42I speak them as if they already happened.
- 9:45And if you look at the Scriptures, there are countless examples of when the Lord does this.
- 9:51Like he tells Gideon, I've already delivered the Midianites into your hands.
- 9:56Like, we've already conquered them, you know, and they hadn't even gone to battle yet.
- 10:00And this isn't judges.
- 10:02And then there's.
- 10:04There are other times when, like Adam, he calls Eve the mother of all living, and they haven't had any children yet.
- 10:10And it's.
- 10:11It's kind of that I'm speaking the truth now, because this is what things will be.
- 10:19And so that's how I speak my goals.
- 10:22It's not, I will do this, because then that always pushes it out into the future, and you never get there because there's always more future ahead of you.
- 10:33But when you say, oh, I did that, and it was wonderful, and I have so much gratitude that that happened and that I accomplished that.
- 10:43I know that was what the Lord wanted, and I did it, and I'm so grateful.
- 10:48Even though you haven't even done it yet, I find that is, for me at least, the best way to set a goal and achieve it.
- 10:57As if you already had.
- 10:59As if I already had.
- 11:01Balance isn't standing still.
- 11:02It is the rhythm of your next step.
- 11:05Whether you're focusing on the stature with a weighted vest or your spirit through silence, you are moving forward.
- 11:15If you're ready to map out your own four category plan, go download our free A Guide to Goal Setting for Christian Women.
- 11:23It features a worksheet specifically designed to help you identify your goals for this season.
- 11:29And if you need an accountability group to help you stay in the rhythm of walking toward your divine mission, come join our accountability group for two weeks for free and see if we're a good fit for you.
- 11:41We'll drop the links for those in the show notes below.
- 11:44Until next time, take your right next step Today Arise.
- 11:49Do it God's way, God Strong.