Progress is defined as “onward movement” to a destination. Have you ever noticed that we expect progress from others? If you have kids, you expect to see the way they clean their room or the kitchen improve. We don’t expect to tell them the same things at 16 that we had to tell them at 6. Who wants to wake a 14 year old up to go to be bathroom to avoid an accident? Not one of us. We also demand progress from those around us. We expect our spouses, friends and co-workers to improve. We don’t want to keep talking about the same issue. We expect our places of employment to make progress. Please don’t pay us the same wages as when we started. When people and situations don’t make progress we get frustrated. Have you ever talked to your spouse about telling your kids the same thing repeatedly? Or talked to your “good” girlfriend about how tired you are of dealing with the same situation with your hubby? I bet you have! It’s easy to see when others need to make progress, but do you require progress from yourself?
I attended four parent teacher conferences this week and I noticed that all of the teachers talked about growth and progress. Each teacher explained where my child had started, where he or she was currently and what they were expected to do to make “satisfactory” progress. Throughout our childhood, our parents, teachers and coaches set benchmarks for us. They tell us what’s expected and how to measure if we’re improving, but once we’re out of school and organized sports, how do we continue to measure our progress? Do we even care? Are we content to live year in and year out dealing with the same problems? How do you tell whether you are growing? What is your measuring stick? Are you making "satisfactory" progress?
There’s an old saying, “If you plan to fail, you fail to plan.” I must admit it took me a little time to accept this as a truth for my life. By nature, I’m kind of a fly by the seat of my pants girl…if you know what I mean! So the thought of actually writing down a plan seemed a little restrictive to me. But after being self reflective, I noticed I wasn’t making any substantial progress in certain areas of my life. The more I read about planning and goal setting, the more clearly I could see that my failure to plan was the reason I was stagnant in those areas.
These questions are examples that will help you locate where you are and clarify where you want to go.
1. What do I want my life to look like in 1 year, including health, wealth, relationships and spiritual walk?
2. Where am I now in these areas?
3. What will it take for me to get from where I am currently to where I want to be?
4. What will I gain if I accomplish these goals?
5. What will I lose if I don’t accomplish these goals?
It’s not enough to want progress; we need strategic steps to get there because nothing just happens! Change doesn’t have to take forever, but it must be purposeful. It must be a conscious decision to consistently make quality choices that agree with our goals. Developing a written plan that I revisit often helps me remember why I’m not eating chocolate cake or why I’m not going to the mall with my girlfriends because a compelling why, helps me stay focused and progressing.
If you are ready to move forward then , don’t just think about it…INK it! Put it in writing!
Without a written vision to guide your daily decision making you’ll struggle to make progress and
