Ready to Receive? Run for it!

Kids’ bedrooms. Redone. Fresh paint. New decor. Personalized new look. Fully prepped and completed . . . by whom? 

Not me!

My teenagers did it all themselves! We’ll discuss more about that miracle in another post, but I made an amazing observation during that couple of weeks’ process. While my kids both waited for the spectacular themed tapestries they had each selected for their own room (coming clear from China and less trackable), they ran to get everything else prepared to receive it. They both decluttered their rooms, let go of items that were unnecessary - but hard to part with, and dropped off unwanted items at the thrift shop. They chose their own colors and put a fresh coat of paint on their walls. Each piece of furniture was sanded and painted. They spray painted frames to match the anticipated tapestries and got them hung. As the delivery date was still uncertain, my daughter searched for clear thumbtacks and kept them in a pile on her nightstand to be at-the-ready when her tapestry arrived. 

I find it interesting that BOTH of their packages arrived weeks before the projected delivery dates online.

What Does Football Have to Do With It? 

My dad has always teased me, saying that I don’t know the difference between a football and a soccer ball. I took P.E. in school, so I’m familiar with all of the balls. Just sayin’. Even though Daddy likes to exaggerate sometimes, let’s just say that I have never been much of a sports fan. 

With that in mind, I learned a powerful lesson directly from a football analogy. 

I participate in a weekly Mastermind call, and a couple weeks ago one of the women members asked us to consider the job of a receiver on the football field. Thankfully, I’ve seen enough snippets of the game to understand what she was talking about. This is super cool in relation to getting your goals - so stay with me. 

The receiver’s job is to break away from all the players blocking him and run like crazy, poised and ready to catch the ball. When he first takes off, and even along the way, the quarterback hasn’t even thrown the ball to him yet. But the receiver does everything he can do to prepare to receive the ball that he just knows is going to come his way. When that ball shows up, he catches the ball (hopefully), and the play progresses. 

Now consider . . . if the receiver waited until the quarterback threw the ball to start running, he would not be in position to receive the throw. 

Isn’t that a fascinating principle? 

Get Ready, Get Set . . . 

Just like the receiver, (because in goal setting — we are the receiver) once we have set our goals, we have to prepare to receive them. 

How do we do that, you ask? 

We simply move forward on those things we do have control over that moves us in the direction of our goals. 

In one of my faith’s book of scripture it says, “Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.” (D.C. 123:17)

I love this! My kids did this very thing. They wished their tapestries could arrive the same day they ordered them, but I sincerely believe the process was sped up (instead of taking an additional month to arrive) because they cheerfully “ran for the ball, expecting it to smoothly land in their hands.” And it did. 

GO!

What goals have you set? Have you been sitting on the sidelines hoping something would happen? Or can you clearly see it in your mind and are ready to move? 

Decide what steps you can take to move toward your goal. Even if they seem insignificant (like collecting the thumbtacks to put the tapestry up), remember that every single step you take sends a message to the universe that you are ready to receive the thing that you desire.

You’ve got this. Now is the time. 

Just RUN for it! 

If you’re ready to ‘go the distance,’ I’m willing to run with you.

How I Finally Learned to Get Things Done

My kids were helping at the local thrift shop. My husband was gone to work. And after tidying up after a weekend of company, the house was quiet. Phew!

Now what?

I knew there were a ton of things I had put off to focus on my busy week, but now I was at a loss. Nothing. Nothing would come. Ideas and thoughts bounced around in my head, but it was like reaching into a bowl of soup with your two fingers to pull out a crumb that has fallen inside. Each time you get close and pinch your fingers together to pull it out, you find it has slipped away. There’s nothing between your fingers. This can be rather maddening! And here the same thing was happening to my thoughts.

I began to recognize that this happened to me more often than it should. It seemed that when I had a spare moment, I couldn’t pinpoint anything productive to do. So I’d turn to social media “to collect my thoughts.” I’m sure you can see what a goofy plan that was. So in this situation . . . two hours passed and I was still scrolling when I heard the kids pull up. My solace was over, and I had accomplished nothing.

One day my seventeen year old son came into my room absolutely beaming. I asked him why he was so happy, and he made a list of everything he wanted to do that day: change out the brake pads on his car, spend an hour reading a book on flipping houses, call the local tech school to register for a class on diesel mechanics, and detail his other car to prepare for sale.

I just stared at him in awe. Not only did he have a plan, he was excited about it. Then it occurred to me . . . during only a few months he had knocked out more goals than most people do in a year.

I asked him what was making the difference for him, and he said it was simple. Each morning, as part of his A.M. routine, he would set goals for the day. The next morning he reviewed how he had done, and then he set new goals.

A genius idea? I sure thought so. I had heard of doing this hundreds of times throughout my life, but not necessarily from real people actually doing it.

I had to tweak it just a bit for me because I needed to wake up with a plan already in hand. I knew my brain tended to be a bit fried in the middle of a hectic day.

So . . . before going to bed each night, I started looking at my calendar and considering what my priorities were to accomplish the next day. I would take into account the things already scheduled for the day, and then maybe I’d set a goal to clean out a cupboard, check on a friend, write a thank you note, or read for fifteen minutes.

The first day after setting goals completely converted me. No joke. It took only once for me to see the benefit. When I had a moment by myself, instead of turning to my computer screen, I pulled out my list of goals. I didn’t have to think in the moment . . . I just moved.

Because I had planned ahead of time, I not only worked on goals during the lulls in between appointments, I started looking for little moments to sneak in a goal. I often complete my goals now before noon because it’s on my mind.

So what do I do if I’m ahead and I have a break in the afternoon? Good question.

I give myself a couple of options.

1. Maybe by this point I feel accomplished enough to just take a breather. That’s fair.

2. I may simply take note that I had more time than I had realized and add additional goals to my list that evening when I plan for the next day.

3. If I have any brain power in that moment, I may set a couple more goals for myself to knock out before dinner.

This has turned out to be one of just a handful of things that keeps me moving, helps me stay on track, and brings a smile to my face that almost matches my son’s.

Maybe give it a whirl. Do you prefer mornings or night?

Need some help to get things done? I’m here to help you set your goals and see them through.