Can I Just…?

Several years ago, I had a realization: I felt stuck. I wasn’t accomplishing any goals.

The reason? I wasn’t setting any!

Why? I didn’t dream. Or, maybe more accurately, I didn’t think enough about them to claim them and determine how to fulfill them. So, I asked myself:

What did I want to accomplish in my life?

What did I want my life to look like on a daily basis?

Once I decided to purposely dream, they came fairly easily. I wanted to lose weight, get out of debt, develop my professional career, and deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ok, I had that identified.

Now what? Well, I knew none of it would be over night, so I decided to break it down into doable steps.

What could I do today to get me closer to my goal?

It led me to setting tasks—real, intentional daily tasks—so I could move forward in life toward the things I actually wanted to achieve.

So I made a commitment to myself. I would do one thing, every day toward each of those four goals. Easy enough. If I couldn’t take one actionable step each day, what was the point in dreaming something would happen? So, each morning I asked myself, how can I move forward on:

• Health goals
• Financial goals
• Professional goals
• Faith goals

And I did them. And that is where I found the power to reach my dreams.

Lo and behold,

• I lost weight.
• I paid off tens of thousands in credit card debt.
• I developed skills that eventually led to actual jobs that I loved.
• And yes, I built a closer relationship with God by spending time with Him daily.

I was amazed at how well it worked. It blew me away.

And then…I stopped.

A couple of months ago, I found myself thinking, I’m stuck, life is upside down, and I don’t like this. How can I move forward?

I remembered the daily goals and I remembered their power. Looking at them again, I saw the they are really are still there, but, in some instances, have different dreams attached to them. This time, the daily action steps didn’t come as easily to me. It took a bit more thinking to find the specificity I needed.

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I will take it all in. I gather bits of information—from conversations, reading, podcasts, wherever. Once my brain starts focusing on something, I begin to collect information, both pro and con, until I’m ready to act on it. My brain will ruminate on it for as long as it takes. Then, one day, seemingly out of nowhere, I make a decision. It might seem rash to others, but not to me. They don’t realize I’ve been quietly thinking about it for months, if not years!

That’s what I’ve done with this process. I’ve observed people talking about what it takes to make changes in your life, I’ve heard God talking to me through other people, other situations. And it all keeps pointing me back to this. This project is the results of hours and hours of it swirling around in my head, making connections, testing the idea of doing this, and finally seeing so many confirmations around me that I can’t possibly walk away from the idea.

I want to write, but I don’t. I want to blog, but I’m not sure of the topic. I want to follow these daily goals, but I haven’t made them a priority. What if I turned all of that around, took all of the years of thinking about this, and actually took a step – any step – and chased my dreams?

That’s how we get to the purpose of this blog. I want to start again. I want to build momentum by setting daily goals that lead to bigger goals and I want to document the process.

Since my initial experiment, I’ve come across other people doing similar things—and succeeding. That reaffirmed what I’d suspected: there’s something very powerful about this approach.

Two years ago, someone recommended the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. In it, he talks about making real change through small, consistent improvements—what he calls “1% level-ups.”

That’s exactly what I was doing with the plan! I’ve started applying that mindset to my diet, but I want to bring it into other areas of my life too. I think combining that idea with the Daily Goals will make this journey even more meaningful.

In truth, I’ve been looking for a project. Something to write about. And I think this is a great place to begin. Not only will it help me reach my own goals, but it gives me an outlet to fulfill another goal – writing. After all, if I want to be a writer, I need to write. Right?

So, where do we go from here?

I know how I want to live and I also know what I want my diet to be. I want food freedom. I’ve played at it for too long. It’s time to commit to all the things and do what I know works.

I got out of debt and, thankfully, I’ve stayed out. But now I realize my financial goals can build on that. I want to travel. I want to retire comfortably. I want to live the life I truly want. I want to be able to say “yes” to opportunities when they arise. That is going to take money.

There’s still a lot I want to learn, things that would benefit me professionally. I want to start chipping away at the list.

And most of all, I want to reconnect with God. I want to commit to a daily practice of spending time with Him and, more importantly, listening to Him.

Over the next few blog posts, I’m going to walk through each of my four daily goals —where I currently stand and what my plan is for moving forward. I’m excited to share it with you. I hope you’re curious enough to follow along.