5 Focuses For the Future
A new chapter begins in our lives! Happy 2018 to all of you. I know it’s been a while since I have written anything, turns out the last half of the year was full of so many things that I just had to be present and take it all in. Thankfully it was full of so many good things.
These past few days have been full of reflection and vision. I looked back on 2017 and saw how beautiful and crazy it all was. One of my proudest achievements from the past year was I took a polaroid picture every single day. I finally took over 300 photos out of their organized boxes and spread out my life in pictures. I remembered those moments so clearly, and I was so incredibly proud of myself for how far I’ve come.
By far the biggest thing that happened was moving away from home. My last blog celebrated the little victories of independent living, and I still keep that mindset today. But it turns out I was more prepared than I thought I was initially. I could’t have done it without God at the center, without His overwhelming peace, I don’t know where I would be… probably not as sane as I am now!
But now that we have a whole year ahead of us, I decided to take this month and really think about what I want to fill it with. You are more likely to accomplish goals in life when you write the vision down. Even the Bible says,
“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. ”
This year is going to be different than any other year. For me, it will be my first full year living on my own. So many possibilities! And I’ve made a list of some of my goals I wish to make this year. Most people will say they want to be healthy, or more organized, or they want to accomplish a certain goal or save a certain amount of money to go on vacation. All of that is great! But this year, I'm focused less on physical accomplishments and more on certain areas I wish to be better in- body, soul and spirit. And I believe that these things that I’m dedicated to focus on this year are things you can do too.
Future Focus
(Your goals don’t have to be towards earth-shattering success)
I’ve been known to get caught in this spiral of driving myself towards big accomplishments. I’m a big thinker, I like to set impressive goals for myself and to stretch myself creatively. But sometimes I take it too far and let it consume me.
For example, in 2016 I was a part of an independent project a friend and I were lead directors on. It was our first collaborative animated short film together and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. But we planned and we wrote and we dreamt big… so big that I set impossible standards on myself and the whole team. Our deadline was November, where we planned on showing the final project at an annual conference we attended. I wanted it to be the best it could be. I wanted this film to impress the masses- something we could be proud of.
So I worked. Once production started, I animated, illustrated, edited every single day… until we realized that what we had in mind and what we set out to do wasn’t possible with the time frame we had set. But I worked even harder. I sacrificed time with my family and friends so I could meet self-imposed deadlines, I stayed up till ungodly hours just so I could feel like I accomplished something. But it was no good. We pushed the deadline not once, but three times. I was so disappointed. Then I got sick, and ended up taking the whole month of December off. The Bible even talks about this.
“It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.”
In my case, "fear of starving to death" was equivalent to "fear of failure/false identity." I thought if I worked hard enough and go beyond, I would become more desirable. I personally like what Genesis says,
“So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”
The God of the Universe took a break. If God Himself needed rest, so do we!
I never gave myself a break. I treated my body horribly during that time, and I never gave my mind rest. I was so wrapped up in the idea that this project will show my potential, that it had to fit my standards in order for me to be truly proud of myself. When it was all said and done I was proud. I actually finished something! I didn’t quit! But the process in getting to that point was strenuous, and it was all because I expected Disney-level artistry and talent out of me who hadn’t even graduated college yet.
Don't get me wrong, I have big ideas for this next year, and I’m sure you do too. But don’t expect too much out of yourself. Don’t feel like you have to prove yourself, because God will fill the gaps with his ever present faithfulness. Take some encouragement from the Apostle Paul when he said,
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns”
Present Focus
(Prioritize the little, daily goals instead of the big picture)
When you look at a lofty goal, say you want to quit your job and want to be your own boss running your own independent company, that end point might seem a little impossible to get to when you’re at the starting line. Funny enough, I have it on my heart to really pursue this dream. The thought is so daunting. No stable source of income, I haven’t really promoted myself recently, I’m not completely confident in my business and marketing skills, there’s a lot I can say to talk myself out of it. But even so, that dream is still there. The more I focus on what is uncertain and scary, the less likely I will pursue it with fervency. So I decided to do what God told me to do.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Take life day by day and do what you can with what you have at your disposal. I’m learning to rule over the time I have in order to get to my big goal. If I can’t discipline myself with the time I have in between school and my retail job, who says I would change my ways when I have all the time in the world? I probably would still take 45% of my day eating brownies and binge watching Psych, along with an occasional 3-hour conversation with my amazing roommate.
Build up your confidence by accomplishing the little things every day. Set those little goals, the small stones that when built on top of each other form a sturdy foundation of which the rest of your life can stand on.
Let’s say the goal is to get to bed at a reasonable time, getting up at 5 a.m. and becoming a morning person. A little daily goal could be turning off your phone and laying in bed by midnight when you normally shut off at 2 in the morning. That’s a great accomplishment! You just have to continually make a decision to make that goal. Which brings me to my next point.
Disciplined Focus
(The hardest part about substantial change in your personal life is the decision)
The most relatable situation is junk food. So you made a personal decision to eat healthy- less chocolate, more kale. The action of consuming your smoothie of a strange green substances isn’t necessarily the tough thing, but it’s actively choosing to say “no" to that chocolate cake or to force yourself to walk past the pastry section at the grocery store. I love how Robert Downey Jr. put it when he was interviewed about his time in prison. RDJ describes his struggle with drug addiction and prison life, saying it wasn't difficult to overcome those “seemingly ghastly problems.” He goes on to say,
“No. What’s hard is to decide. Most difficult situations will resolve themselves if you are persistent and if you don’t give up entirely. And that’s what I did, I never gave up.”
That’s a pretty bold thing to say, and I love hearing it from him. The act of making those daily decisions and those small steps towards change got him to a place where he is now one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Thankfully I’m not dealing with drugs and a criminal record, but there are some habits I need to break in order to grow to where I want to be. Sometimes it’ll be turning off my phone and avoiding social media, or deciding to not take a nap and study instead. Each decision will form a new habit, which can in turn form routines that benefit yourself in the bigger picture. Don’t be afraid to start small.
Others Focused
(Selfless goals bring more self growth)
Among all of these personal and career goals, there has been one thing I’ve wanted to work on for a long time, and that’s simply shutting up and listening for a change.
Growing up I received the most attention by drawing or showing off my talent. The older I became, the more accomplishments I had on my roster to show off. I felt validated the more cool things I did. But not only that, I became more proud of myself through those moments in my life. I’ve noticed myself in the middle of conversations referring back to those things, highlighting things I’ve done, name-dropping people of importance, a lot of selfish things.
My intentions weren’t vain in a sense I wanted to boost my ego, it was more of a tactic to make myself more appealing to people. Maybe I would be attractive enough through the things I’ve done and the dreams I have in mind that everyone would juts flock to me and I wouldn't be awkward and alone! But it ultimately comes across as egotistical and prideful… at least that’s what I think anyway.
So I’ve made a decision to listen more, ask questions, inquire about other people’s dreams and what God has been speaking to them about. Besides, a part of my “big picture” is to encourage others into knowing and walking in the love of Jesus. Wouldn’t hurt to start acting like him, right? I want to be there for others. When it comes to my selfless focus, I want to be
• Compassionate in my thinking
• Considerate with my words
• Generous with my resources
• and Sensitive to the Holy Spirit
When your focus isn’t all about you, you begin to see things outside yourself and realize that there is more you have to offer to the world than vice versa.
“But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Spiritual Focus
(Have comfort in your future because of your Heavenly Father’s Faithfulness)
Ultimately what I want to do is follow the Holy Spirit and go where God tells me to go, do what he tells me to do. I know in this season, going to school and being in Tulsa is exactly where I need to be, and He guided me here knowing I was going to thrive and grow. In this next year, I don’t want it to be any different.
I want to go even deeper in my relationship with Him. Over the past four months of Bible school, there is so much about my Heavenly Father that continues to amaze me. His love for me and his intentions for my future are too substantial for my mind to comprehend, and I don’t think it’s possible to fully grasp the reality of His love. But what I do know is that He’s never failed me. Every time He’s told me to go somewhere, He was with me the whole time.
I put my new found faith into practice in the middle of last semester. It was cold season, and everyone was getting sick. I knew from the past that I usually got sick around the same time. I actually began to feel a soreness in my throat early on, but I wasn't gonna take it.
I did everything I could in the natural. I drank herbal tea (and I don’t even like tea all that much, but I knew it would help with the soreness), slept more and drank a lot of water. After being taught about having control over my body and not letting it tell me how I should feel, I stood in faith and thanked God for the healing in my body. I wasn’t going to refuse a benefit that Jesus gave his life for.
Guess what? I never got sick, and I will continue to stay that way. God’s Word works, and I’m going to continue walking in faith in all these other areas I’ve listed above.
“With God, all things are possible.”
Walk it Out
The benefit of this new year is that there are so many possibilities. No matter what 2017 was like to you, if it was hard, painful, discouraging or even hopeless, it’s never too late to start. You’re never too broken to succeed. Significant change doesn’t have to start right away. It’s all about the process, the gradual changes that lead to bigger growth. Even if the biggest thing you did today was get through it, you’re making progress.
I encourage you all to write down your vision for this year. Make it known to yourself, keep yourself accountable, and continually choose to make yourself better than who you were yesterday.
What are you guys looking forward to in 2018? I would love to know! Is it a road trip? A new movie coming out? A big goal you’ve set for yourself? Leave a comment down below!
“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”