Have you ever heard the phrase, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him the plans you have for your life”? I don’t know how I’m not a hugely successful comedian, because my life plans were clear:
1) Go to college.
2) Make straight A’s.
3) Graduate on time.
4) Attend a top law school.
5) Live happily ever after.
Well, at least I’m 1 for 5, right? College was nothing that I expected it to be. Instead of being a magical place where I could finally achieve my dreams, it became filled with twists and turns that brought me far away from my own goals. I felt like because I wasn’t achieving these great things that I wasn’t successful. But have you ever noticed that they way we define success is often valued by what material things we acquire? Straight As. President of an organization. High starting salary. What if we made success about something else? What if being successful just meant being happy?
After having God laugh in my face a few times, I think I’ve begun to figure out what He’s trying to tell me. So I’ve put together a new list. Here are the goals I want to achieve alongside God in the next 5 years:
1) Be daring.
To quote from the phenomenal feature film “Up”, “Adventure is out there” and I’m not going to find it by being content to remain stationary.
2) Embrace rejection.
In fact, make it a priority. One thing I am sure of is that I always learn more about myself when I’ve been rejected or when I’ve failed than when I’ve succeeded. And since I’m not content to remain stationary, I better get used to falling down.
3) Say yes.
So often I think we fear not being able to achieve so we back away. The reality is that when we say yes, opportunities we didn’t know were there become apparent.
4) Stop running from God.
God challenges and asks a lot of me and it’s terrifying. It’s so easy to run and hide and pretend like everything’s okay, but God challenges me to face it. But I believe that He won’t give me anything I can’t handle.
5) Leave room for what I can’t imagine yet.
The point of long-term goals is often to map out life, but if I do that I could miss something that I need in my life.
Thank you guys for all of your support thus far. If you are interested in becoming a part of my team you can click the “Support Me” tab at the top of the page. Have a great Thanksgiving next week and consider taking the time to examine your own goals.
Peace and Blessings,
Carson
