Planning and JOY are not typical pairings.

Well, unless of course we are starting to plan a bridal/baby shower, birthday/anniversary/graduation party [ insert type of exciting, anticipated celebration here] there’s plenty of joy to go around.

Notice I said starting…often times the JOY can wear off in the minutia of details and deadlines!

On the other hand, when it comes to the thought of planning our weekly and daily tasks, most of us will gravitate toward feelings of “have to”, “I’d better” and maybe even a bit of dread. [insert procrastination tactics here]

Recently, I spent some time reviewing my own goals in an effort to get to the root of why some are making progress toward achievement and others, not so much.

Keeping true to my typical response, I went on the hunt for helpful resources. Books, blogs, articles, old journals, notes, trainings, etc. and the “answer” came by way of an old note I had written in a VERY old book – my Bible.

Listen, no matter where you are on the faith scale, there’s no disputing the depth of lessons and wisdom in one of the oldest and best selling non-fiction books of all time. Which is why it is usually my #1 go-to resource.

Anywhooo…

What I found that helped me gain a NEW perspective when it comes to planning and ultimately achieving my goals comes from Philippians 3:12-16. (you can check it out here if you’d like)

Plan with JOY to gain traction on the ACTION needed toward achieving your biggest, scariest, seemingly out of reach goals!

J is for… Jet

I don’t have to have it ALL figured out in order to “press on” toward my goal. So with that weight of not having to know it all first, I can have the confidence to GO…literally JET towards my goal (with joy) and the more I DO, the more I will learn! Awesome!

O is for… Omit

In order to move forward, toward my goal – in FRONT of me, I have to leave the past behind. Learning to let go of yesterday in order to reach for tomorrow is not easy, but so worth it! Deal with your past so that it no longer defines your future. YES that’ll put some joy in your step(s)!

Y is for… Yet

Yield to the process, commit to the work and embrace the anticipation of YET. Learn to find satisfaction (ahem, JOY) in the progress you are making. Adopt the mindset of “I CAN & I WILL” when it comes to what you’re learning with the intent to APPLY!

If you’ve been with me for any amount of time, you know my love and excitement for a good acronym to encourage doable action taking for our biggest goals!! And I hope you agree that J.O.Y. does not disappoint.

Simple, yet not necessarily easy. Memorable, yet easy to skip the process. Doable, yet tempting to make it more complicated. Trust me, I know – I can overthink and over complicate things like it was my job!

Keep it about JOY and you will make progress!

The best part – you may actually begin to FEEL joy in your life. I don’t know about you, but progress toward my goals and feeling joy…WIN!

Learning to keep the JOY in my plans for the sake of my goals right there with ya,

Watch the video version on the YouTube Channel

You can listen to the podcast version here

Is DiStRaCtioN the biggest factor to when it comes to your ability to focus on your goals? Want some help with that? Go here