{"id":725,"date":"2013-04-15T00:32:25","date_gmt":"2013-04-15T05:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lovingonme.com\/?p=725"},"modified":"2017-04-09T14:23:09","modified_gmt":"2017-04-09T19:23:09","slug":"its-time-to-hit-the-go-button","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/2013\/04\/15\/its-time-to-hit-the-go-button\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Time to Hit the Go Button!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hit<\/a>Where<\/strong> you are may not be where you want to be, but it\u2019s a great starting point for where you want to go.<\/b> The question is, what\u2019s your destination?<\/p>\n

That may be the hardest thing to figure out for nearly all of us. There are a few among us that know as kids they want to sing, or dance, or make people feel better. But the rest of us meander through life trying to divine what in the world we should be doing.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re usually in one of three stages:<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what I want to do with my life.<\/p>\n

I sort of know, but I don\u2019t know what to do first.<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019m on the path, but it\u2019s taking too long.<\/p>\n

It can be frustrating in this space because we just feel stuck! We want to do something, but we don\u2019t know what to do so we do nothing. We seem lost in an endless maze of possibilities.<\/p>\n

However, there is a way forward that is fun and fruitful despite the fog in our minds. Now I\u2019ll warn you \u2013 my perspective is a bit unorthodox. But I completely agree with Mark Twain when he said, \u201cIf you do what you\u2019ve always done, you\u2019ll get what you always got.\u201d I also believe if you wait to have all the answers you\u2019ll be dead before you get started.<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b>So grab a sheet of paper, turn it sideways and let\u2019s try something new. Here’s our first 3 of 6 tips!<\/p>\n

First, Pursue your passion<\/i> and let purpose pursue you.<\/b><\/p>\n

Developing a life of purpose has stymied many of us at the start line. We spend hours ruminating on the true meaning of life while others have gone on living. Then someone tells us to do what we\u2019re passionate about, what we\u2019d do for free if money were no object. What!?! Please\u2026money will always be an object, even if you have a lot of it. Let\u2019s be a bit more realistic.<\/p>\n

What is it that you do that makes you smile from ear to ear? This is usually what you\u2019re passionate about. Now just acknowledge it, don\u2019t judge it. The quickest way to shut our selves down is by comparing our \u201cthing\u201d to somebody else\u2019s \u201cthing\u201d and then deciding we\u2019re not good enough. As my grandmother used to say, \u201cfoot on that!\u201d There is a reason what you love makes your soul sing. Just hold on\u2026it\u2019ll be clear bye and bye.<\/p>\n

If you do what you enjoy, your purpose will come calling. God tied it to what you\u2019re good at, even if you don\u2019t know it yet. Think about Moses. God chose him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses must have wondered if God was a little off on this one because Moses was slow of speech, and here God was sending him off to talk to Pharaoh. But what God knew about Moses was that he was a champion for the underdog. He stood up for people when they were being mistreated and that\u2019s whom you send in to lead an exodus \u2013 someone passionate about liberation and justice.<\/p>\n

The secret to a purposeful life is that it pursues those who are already working.<\/b> There is no progress, prosperity or purpose in sitting still.<\/p>\n

What you can do right now:<\/i><\/b> On the left side of your paper write down three things you enjoy. Don\u2019t think too hard or you\u2019ll try to impress yourself. And please don\u2019t worry about if someone will pay you to do it. For now, just be true to you.<\/p>\n

Second, Define success<\/i> in a way that suits you!<\/b><\/p>\n

We often define success based on what we have instead of who we are. We view people with wealth, fame, celebrity and power as successful, but people who pursue a life of service as significant. Must they be mutually exclusive? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

Success, at its root, is about you achieving your goals. That means there is no need for us to be bound by traditional views on what a successful life looks like. Forget the 1-2-3 we\u2019ve all read on how to be successful. Just figure out what you want to accomplish, and let that be your guide.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s something else to keep in mind \u2013 plans change. As life ebbs and flows, so too will our goals. How I defined success at 22 is very different than how I define it in my mid-40s. Be at ease about being flexible. Adjusting your goals doesn\u2019t mean you failed. It means you had sense enough to aim in a new direction!<\/p>\n

What you can do right now:<\/i><\/b> Without thinking about it, write three goals down the right side of your paper. They don\u2019t have to be earth shattering or profound. They just have to be yours. To get you started here are mine \u2013 lose ten pounds by end of summer, try something new every month, write a book.<\/p>\n

Third, Decide on your best next step\u00a0and let the rest of life unfold.<\/b><\/p>\n

So we have some goals, know what we like to do, and now what? This is usually when our minds go into hyper drive just peppering us with millions of things we can do, but then we can\u2019t figure out what to do first. It feels like sitting in your car at a 4-way stop, revving the engine but never taking your foot off the brake because you can\u2019t figure out which way to turn.<\/p>\n

Rest assured that none of us have a crystal ball. Don\u2019t let not knowing what\u2019s on the next page stop you from enjoying your life story. <\/b>The best we can do is learn from our mistakes, make good decisions based on what\u2019s in front of us, and trust God for the rest.<\/p>\n

We have to relieve ourselves of the notion that we can always figure out the right answer. Sometimes we can only get to a better answer. And in the absence of that, we\u2019ve got to go with an answer. Thomas Edison said, \u201cI have not failed. I\u2019ve just found 10,000 ways that won\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n

What you can do right now:<\/i><\/b> It\u2019s time to do a brain dump. In the middle of your paper, write down all the things you\u2019ve been considering doing. Again, don\u2019t think too long or you\u2019ll be trying to tie it to other things on the page. Once you\u2019ve written them all down close your eyes, twirl your finger over the page, and then allow it to drop on the paper. Whatever your finger lands closest to, that\u2019s where you should begin this week.<\/p>\n

I know it sounds ridiculous. It likely goes against every self-help, goal-setting, purposeful life book you\u2019ve ever read. But consider this \u2013 we\u2019ve all read them and we\u2019re still stuck. Time to put the car in drive and ease on down the road.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t know which way to turn? It\u2019s all right\u2026God doesn\u2019t give us direction until we start to move. It\u2019s okay to get started without having it all figured out<\/b>.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s expected that we\u2019ll be flying blind some of the time. How else would we learn to trust God?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t deny yourself the adventure of a walk of faith that defies the status quo! He\u2019s given us dreams and infused us with passion for pursuing them. We’ve got everything we need to get started. It\u2019s up to us to get in gear with what we\u2019ve got!<\/p>\n

We’d love to read your comments on how you get unstuck and get going! Be sure to check back later this week for the next 3 tips as we work together to get our lives in gear.<\/p>\n

Loving on Me as I Love You! \u2764<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Where you are may not be where you want to be, but it\u2019s a great starting point for where you want to go. The question is, what\u2019s your destination? That may be the hardest thing to figure out for nearly all of us. There are a few among us that know as kids they want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sharing_disabled":false,"switch_like_status":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[204998050,114917237],"tags":[922,1547,11870,204997786,204997597,122792808,3231],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/istock_000000599064medium-1.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eAxC-bH","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9003,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions\/9003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}