Everyday Decisions That Shape Your Destiny: Choosing Motion Over Inertia

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When it comes to achieving a dream, do you ever feel like you are unable to build momentum? Are there times when you are simply stuck? If so, this post is for you! In my current blog series, “Everyday Decisions That Shape Your Destiny,” we will take a look at a decision that is made every day. Choose correctly, and you’ll move towards your dream, but choose incorrectly and you may never achieve your heart’s desire.

If it seems like you are getting nowhere in your journey towards a dream, then you need to understand and recognize this “everyday decision” with the power to achieve your goal. This post will help you understand the powerful implications of each possible choice.

Today’s Decision: What Will YOU Do?

Whenever you have a goal or a dream, one important daily decision is whether or not you will take a step towards your goal… or to stay where you are. The fact is that every day you will make this decision. If you want to achieve your dream, that place of promise that God has whispered to your heart, then today choose to do something— anything—that will move you towards your goal if you want to reach it. By failing to recognize this decision and make the correct choice, in other words, by procrastinating, you will lose momentum.

Remember learning about Newton’s Laws of Motion in physics class? In Newton’s First Law of Motion, we learn that “a body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion” unless acted upon by a force. [1] In other words, if an object is stationary, it will stay right where it is unless something comes along to get it moving again.

Newton’s law can also be applied to our progress towards a dream. With every day that passes without some movement towards that goal, the harder it will be to get started again.

Make no mistake, there will be many reasons to keep you from moving forward towards a goal. Life is busy, right? Schedules are crammed with too many tasks and our plates are full. Not to mention the “shiny objects” that cross our paths each day: Facebook posts, emails, new tech apps (my particular weakness), and invitations… whatever is distracting for you.

Our enemy will keep tossing out distractions,
especially if you tend to follow them and go off course.

My confession to you: Too often I choose stay put and fail to move towards my goal. I wander, I procrastinate, or I get distracted. If we are to reach our dream, we must make this one choice EACH day: Choose to keep walking toward your goal, even if it means taking only one small step towards it. (I invite you to hold me accountable!)

Forget Your “What If’s”

Sometimes we procrastinate because of fear. Do you ask yourself questions like, “What if I fail?” or “What if I don’t have the talent to succeed?” If so, this is what I want you to know:

When God gives you a dream, it will be bigger
than you are able to achieve on our own.

He wants to work through you, to empower you to glorify His name with your unique talents and gifts.

Maybe you are in an environment that is not supportive. Do you worry that no one will believe in you or that you will reach your dream? This is all you need to know: God believes in you. When it comes to a God-inspired dream, that’s all that matters. Just keep your eyes on Jesus. He will pull you above the waves of doubt to give you a new confidence in Him. So forget the “What ifs ” and get moving!

It’s time to be honest with yourself.

Take a look at your recent progress over the past month. If you see a repeated pattern of putting everything before your dream, then it’s time to ask yourself why. Are you afraid of the consequences of success—of reaching your dream? Or are you secretly afraid of failure? Do you worry what others, your friends and your family, will think?  If so, you need to spend some time with God and ask Him what HE thinks. You need to ask Him to let you know if the dream in  your heart is from Him.

As difficult as it can be, ask Him to prevent you from pursuing a dream that is not His.  Ask for wisdom to know whether a dream is truly from God, or from our own fleshly desire. When you ask, remember this promise:

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously
and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.”

– James 1:5 HCSB

When you know that a dream is from God, you don’t need approval from others. When God gives a dream, you will probably face opposition from others, sometimes even the people that you most love. (For more on this, see Luke 4:14024.)

Fear is immobilizing, and the only way to move beyond it is to face it fully. When you know that you are on the path of God’s will and you feel fear, then say a prayer, take a deep breath …. and keep moving towards your dream.

One Small Step Each Day

Are you unsure of the how to achieve your dream? Does it seem overwhelming to you? If so, start by sitting down with a piece of paper and creating small goals—the small steps—needed to get you there.

For example, the thought of writing a nonfiction book might take your breath away, but you can write a list of chapter topics for a book in 30 minutes. After that, you can create an outline for each chapter on your list. If you need to start with research, give yourself a set time for research. After that, it’s time to step out and start putting something down on paper.

The bottom line is:

You need to do a task each day to keep you moving forward and prevent inertia.

It doesn’t have to be a time-consuming task, but do at least one thing each day to keep you in motion.

What if You are Already in a State of Inertia?

In Newton’s Laws of Motion, we learned that a body at rest will stay at rest unless a force acts on it to get it moving again. If you are in a state of inertia, you’ll need to find an active force to get you started again. That force could be an accountability partner, or a friend who will promise to check in on you to make sure you are progressing.

Let this post be that force—in the form of encouragement to you.

This blog is dedicated to helping you find the Promised Land that God has created just for you. So if you have been stationary too long in the journey towards a dream—your promised land— allow this post be a word of encouragement—the force—to get you moving again. The good news is that once you are in motion, you’ll tend to stay in motion!

Getting Real With You

I want to be real with you: I struggle with this, too. Once I start writing, I can keep writing. It’s the getting started that is the hardest part. I’ll procrastinate by researching a new writing app or service, like a new productivity tool, or I will check email and social media. If I am really honest with myself, I know that I do this out of fear. I’m afraid that the words won’t come, or that God will not whisper a message of encouragement for my readers. Or, I’m afraid that no one will read what I say or care about my topic.

But I know that God is good, and He is always faithful. All I need to do is sit down and focus on Him. When I do, He always provides me with the creativity and instruction to keep going.

I don’t know where you are right now in your own progress, but listen, we are in this together. If I have encouraged you in any way, please let me know by commenting. I value the feedback!

If you need encouragement, I’d love to know that, too. Here’s a secret to share with you: God created us to need each other. We work best when we do!

Now what are you waiting for? Stop reading and get moving toward your dream.

Make a decision each day—including today!—to do at least one task to move towards your dream… but don’t be a stranger here, okay? I’d love to walk with you for the journey! Stay tuned to more “Everyday Decisions That Shape Your Destiny” to come!

May your journey be blessed!

Kelly

[1] Newton's laws of motion. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/newton's laws of motion (accessed: April 11, 2015).

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