What hinders you as you work so hard to achieve your commitments?

What gets in the way? Why do we stray off the path of pursuing our greatest dreams and desires?

And how can we get back on track and remained focused?

Commitments can be as simple as heeding that obnoxious clanging from our alarm clock so we get to work on time. Or they can be complex, such as pursuing a new career, business venture or our God-given purpose.

But sometimes we get distracted and we pursue an assortment of activities which appear to keep us busy but are not achieving our deepest desires.

When we have goals which are inspirational and good, why do we struggle with commitment?

What have we forgotten along the way? In a word, Time.

This article will discuss how to get back on the the path to achieving your commitments.

“Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.”

Fly Like An Eagle, The Steve Miller Band

Measure Time Investment

Have you noticed?

Time marches on minute by minute, day by day. It can be so frustrating.

We choose our daily rituals and responsibilities, day in and day out. If we are ultra-organized, we may make a weekly and even a monthly plan for ourselves. Some days we discover we have used our given time effectively. Other days, not so much.

Time is elusive.

We can’t wrap our arms around it and make it stay still until we are ready to use it.

So we must measure the time we invest in our commitments and other activities.

Do we stop to inquire as to why one day is profitable and another is lost on lesser activities. The time we spend can never be retrieved or made available again.

Taking an inventory of our ‘time spend’ can be a difficult exercise, but so very eye-opening.

In order to achieve your commitments, you must do the work of analyzing which activities are receiving the greater allotment of your time. Are those the activities classified as important goals and dreams, something you want to be committed to?

Identify Goals and Dreams

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up someplace else.

If you want to achieve your commitments, you must know what your dreams and goals are.

Often though, we don’t like to admit that our dream, or even what we thought was a goal, is really nothing more than a puff of smoke or a “wish” on Aladdin’s lamp.

Consequently, it is imperative that we know for certain if we have truly committed to our goals, or whether they are just dreams without a deadline.

Therefore step one is to identify your dreams and goals. Write them and post them, preferably in a place where you will see them every day. A dream or wish can certainly become a goal if it can be classified as SMART.

If we have truly committed to our goals, in order to make progress, our goals must be SMART. This is an acronym. I have also included a description of a SMART goal.

• Specific: Complete a book manuscript
• Measurable: Complete two chapters per month, or 16,000 words per month = 4,000 per week.
• Achievable: Personal thought required. Yes, my goal is achievable, in my opinion.
• Realistic: Personal thought required. Yes, my goal is realistic, in my opinion.
• Time-Bound: Within ten months

Monitor Goals and Dreams

As we make these SMART goals, many will require incremental steps along the way to achievement. ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’ So too, we must break goals into smaller manageable chunks to ensure forward momentum. This will also provide a way to measure our achievement and offer encouragement along the way.

Once we have SMART goals and the manageable chunks, it’s time to monitor achievement towards these smaller bite-size pieces of our goals. This requires periodic review, perhaps on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis.

Rather than scolding ourselves if we have not stayed on track, periodic reviews allow us to modify our timeline or find ways to ramp up activity in specific areas so that we complete the goal within our desired timeframe.

Additionally, when we have smaller, more manageable, chunks-goals (say 4,000 words as above), we can encourage ourselves. Find ways to celebrate these small achievements along the way to fulfilling our dream or goal of ‘eating the whole elephant.’

Recognize Obstacles

We must identify the obstacles to our forward momentum. What is holding you back from achieving your commitments, goals and dreams? If I have a dream of becoming an author, but always allow distractions to prevent me from writing, that dream will never be realized. It must be converted into a SMART goal or left in the dust to die. Harsh, perhaps, but true.

Further complications include the deluge of distractions that take hold of our minds, hearts and time. Some of these distractions may be helpful, but so many are trivial, and the time invested can never be redeemed.

Our microwave society demands immediate fulfillment of our desires. But, it’s impossible to achieve the greater goals in a split second of time investment.

Moments tick by (Tick Tock Tick) while we scroll our social media feed and we discover another hour has been lost, never to be restored.

And when all things are brought out to the light, then their true
nature is clearly revealed…So be careful how you live. Don’t live
like ignorant people, but like wise people. Make good use of every
opportunity you have because these are evil days. Don’t be fools,
then, but try to find out what the Lord wants you to do.

Ephesians 5:13-17

Resolve to Press On

When we find we have fallen off course, we can berate ourselves, and we can become discouraged in the pit of despair … or we can press on to pursue once again the path of our personal and God-inspired greatness.

There is a place deep within each of us that must be tapped to draw out this greater resolve. We must ‘set our face like flint’ in the direction of our dream and continue taking steps in its direction. Yes, we may stray off course, but there is a power at work within us.

There is a work, a dream, a goal that has your name on it, given by the Creator.

You have an advocate who is cheering for you to complete your dream, to achieve your destiny, even when the road becomes difficult and the distractions are furious.

Set your mind and heart in the direction of your dream or goal. Trust God who designed each of us as His very own masterpiece. Further, God established dreams and works for each of us to accomplish even before He put the world in motion.

So be encouraged that you have all you need to achieve your commitments, even when the going gets tough.

And when the road is strewn with obstacles of distractions or discouragement, ask your advocate, Jesus, for His strength and stick-to-it-ness. He is able, more than able to achieve what concerns you today.

God, who started his great work in you will keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish until the very day Christ Jesus appears.

Philippians 1:6 MSG

Make Progress Today….

♥ Fix your mind and heart on those better and God-inspired goals.
♥ Break down each goal into manageable chunks.
♥ Make appointments (block time on schedule) to complete one or more ‘goal-chunks’ day by day.
♥ Be intentional each day to to review thoughts and activities.
♥ Schedule time for distractions.
♥ Forgive yourself when you stray from your greater pursuits.
♥ Remind yourself that today is another day to start afresh and make the most of each new day

Recommit Again

To achieve your commitments, consider time. Consider your dreams and God-inspired goals.

Life is a collection of minutes. Aim for minutes which are are spent on the most meaningful pursuits.
Identify SMART goals and potential obstacles.

Measure time investment.

Monitor activities to ensure time is spent on goals and dreams that truly matter.

While we still have breath in our lungs, let’s grasp our dreams and goals for each day and pursue our best life now, minute by minute.

Prayer

Lord, I come to you again, today, admitting my difficulty in maintaining commitment to the better goals, to Your will for this day. Help me to surrender the time You have given me to Your purposes, no matter how outside my comfort zone they may be. And when I fall, and discover I have yet again given into distractions, help me forgive myself as You do and move forward in faith remembering that Your mercies are new every morning.

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