I think it's good to plan, to have a detailed blueprint to take us where we want to go, to help us stay on track and avoid distraction, but sometimes life gets in the way of our well-thought out plan and throws us a wrench and creates a halting, a wake-up call or need to change direction. Having a healthy understanding and knowing life may have a completely different plan than the one we hope for is a good place to be in when preparing and positioning ourselves for all that a new year might unfold for us. It reminds me life is an adventure... an adventure to discover one year at a time and to be open to all it wants to teach me, to bless me with, or to take away from me.
So if life just seems to happen to us like that, why make plans in what seems like such a powerless existence? My answer... Because it helps us anchor our hearts and minds to our dreams, prevents cynicism and or depression, gives direction, hope, joy and purpose to life instead of aimlessly wandering and wasting time. If planning does anything other than bring you joy, hope and purpose (for example if instead it brings things like stress and striving after)... I might consider why... and then keep reading to hopefully discover a better way.
Recently I've been dreaming up a plan for 2015 and not just 2015 but thinking well into the future too... 5, 10 or the next 20 years. Life goes FAST and I think there are things we desire that God intends we invest ourselves in or he would not have put those desires on our hearts and minds. It's ok to have a plan for life even though it sometimes takes us on an unexpected detour. What's most important is attitude and allowing life to happen. Planning without having a death grip on the outcome. This year I'm trying to use an idea I read from author Timothy Ferriss. It's called a "Dreamline". He suggests breaking down our goals into 3 categories...
1. Having
2. Being
3. Doing
In a second column you might write down estimated costs of these goals and in a third column you would start to write up specific steps you need to take, or a "to-do" list to get you started.
Once you break goals down and write them into your 2015 journal you would visit the dreamline daily or weekly to tweak and make new "to-do" steps. The re-visiting is key to moving the
vagueness of the dream or goal into the essential steps you would need to take to get there and to evaluate how it's going.
The dreamline then becomes our navigator and a sort of prayer list to guide an early morning ritual. Finding a time to visit the dreamline is vital to keep bringing to mind our desired direction. I believe it's good and right to let the dreamline get us excited and to help us envision and enjoy an emotional place of imagining what it would be like if the dreams and goals were for sure being realized and believing that they will be. Dreaming about your dreamline if you will... Or in other words just having a simple child-like faith in prayer and delighting in God and a knowing that he cares and will answer and honor our requests. (When you ask BELIEVE that you already have what you asked for and it will be yours... "BELIEVE" i.e., DREAM ABOUT, DELIGHT IN, ENJOY THINKING ABOUT IT AS IF IT'S A DONE DEAL).
We have to believe in our dreams and believe they were put on our minds for a reason. Or we can choose to approach our dreams and "faith" with heaviness, doubt and gloom or even worse with indifference... wondering if anything will ever work out the way we hope. Not sure about you but I'd rather be child-like with anticipation, a knowing and a hope for the best outcome. What do you desire to have, be or do? Have you thought about it lately? Can you get excited about it? Can you get specific? Can you dream and BELIEVE?Just as an example a dreamline might look a little like this... if
you were making let's say, fitness goals...
Dreamline... In 6 months I dream of...
Having: More muscle tone. Cost: gym membership, dvd workouts, weight set.
Steps: Research cost, ask for advice about good dvd ideas.
Being: Less Stressed Cost: yoga class or dvd, cost of a massage. Steps: register for a class, schedule a monthly massage appointment.
Doing: Run a 1/2 marathon Cost: race fee, shoes, running attire. Steps: Find a race in the area, visit fleet feet, join a run club, seek out new running friends.
In the midst of all the planning and consistently praying, journaling and having faith and strong belief... a transformation is guaranteed to happen deep in us too. We become more appreciative of the process along life's journey because we are consciously taking time to look for evidence of answered prayer and we're writing out the details of what we do each day to take steps toward our goals... It's not just about arriving at a desired destination but enjoying the journey in the NOW. Our plans and dreams matter but what matters even more is where we are at right now and how we feel about it. Like we mentioned earlier... If planning and goal setting bring you stress and anxiety I would stop and consider why... This usually happens to us if our focus is only in the future. Everything that happens to us happens right now. If we can't be present and intentionally choosing to enjoy right now, nothing new will ever happen to us because we keep missing out on the now. We will not experience our experiences. Without this focus on appreciating the now we'll most likely only be thinking of the future and feel a heavy striving, pushing, working and stress to "get there" rather than enjoying, appreciating, being full of wonder for the now and relaxing about life. What's most important in life isn't finding the answer or a solution but what we all are really looking for is a pleasant path. We need to make peace with the never ending, ever unfolding path and say to ourselves, "I am in the right place and right time and I'm doing great!.. Where I'm at is just right!.. How I feel about where I am is what's important." Those are the kinds of thoughts that make us feel good and we should want to care enough about the way we feel as one of our most important priorities. How you and I feel is always a decision we make but it takes practice to be present and mindful and to choose joy in each moment. Be mindful about how you feel, notice the messages you tell yourself and your usual mood on most days. Isn't it true that this is where life is really lived? If you think it through I think most would agree. Wouldn't you also agree that God wants us to be in a place of joy, peace, love, thankfulness, and hope in the midst of all our planning? If your planning causes anxiety or stress or unpleasant emotion and striving I'd back up and examine why. Most likely you are not living in the now but so desperately want what the future holds... Tomorrow may never come so why not live for today and practice the pleasant and easier path of joy, hope and love.
Are you getting ready for 2015? Carve some time out now to reflect and create a dreamline and get yourself a journal to help you record your experiences and use it as your little secret place to unwind, to pray, to focus on being thankful and full of anticipation for each day and especially make 2015 the year you start practicing a mindful awareness of the joy of life in the NOW!
Happy New Year!!
