Do You Know "I'm Gonna?"
If there is one phrase which has held back the potential in so many people, it just has to be "I'm Gonna." We've all used it at some point and there are generally appropriate times to use it. Sadly, it is used far too often when in the context of goals and dreams.
When I was working on my Masters degree, I was holding down two part time jobs, and a full-time Army career. As you might imagine, I didn't sleep much. I was dedicated towards completing this degree and knew the payoff was going to be well worth the sacrifice. I don't tell you this to toot my own horn (because so many people have done things far harder than lose a little sleep to accomplish their goals), but to frame what I'm about to say next. During the time I was working on my Masters and in fact most of my military career as I was working on my Associates, my Bachelors, and then my Masters, I had people come to me and say "I admire you so much for what you're doing, and I'm Gonna start my education next semester. I can't really this semester because (insert the excuses here). I heard everything. "I didn't register in time", "I am so busy", "I just started reading a book", "I need to get my mind right". Those and so many other excuses. To those making them, they seemed pretty legit. To me, they sounded like what they were, excuses.
Why do we use excuses so much? Some people make full-time jobs out of making excuses and I'll say at least they're good at something. But friends, your goals aren't going to come knocking on your door. Your dreams aren't going to materialize themselves in front of you. Success equals action, and without action, your unfulfilled goals and dreams will never get any closer than they are today. The truth is, we are creatures of habit, we can be quite lazy, and we like our routines, especially our lazy routines. So throwing in some action is something we tend to naturally shy away from because action equals work. But I submit every great man and woman who has ever accomplished anything of note, has had to put in the time and had to do the work.
Earlier in this blog I mentioned my Masters, and I'll tell you that was a crowning personal achievement of mine. But I am as infallible as the next person. For many years, I was "gonna" lose that spare tire around my waist. You see friends, for many years I had chosen to be fat. I say chosen, because I never mistakenly ate anything. I nurtured my belly fat like it was a prized possession and I had become quite an expert at sucking the gut in at just the right point. I really thought it worked but I suspect the only person who believed that was me. Last summer I had finally had enough. I chose to stop wishing the pounds away (which doesn't work in case you're trying it) and decided to "do" something about it. 30lbs later and at the tender age of 42, I am truly happy with myself physically for the first time in many years. Again, I share this with you not to toot my own horn, but to demonstrate everything is possible with action, nothing is possible for those of us who are "gonna" do anything.
If you want that new job, to go back to school, to make more money, to stop smoking or drinking, to lose some weight, to whatever, you have to begin now. If you don't take definite action, you won't get definite results.
Today is January 27th, 2013. A year from now you could be well on your way to accomplishing your goals or maybe even having already accomplished them. You will be able to look back and remember the day you started on your journey. But if you're "gonna" do it tomorrow, the next day, when it warms up, when the kids get out of school, when the kids go back to school, or right after the holidays, you're going to be at this same point a year from now, wishing you had started today.
Change takes more than dreaming, goals take action. It's Sunday, a great day to start goals. Take that leap of faith. Make today the day you turned "I'm Gonna" into "I did."
I believe in you my friend, you just have to believe in yourself.
When I was working on my Masters degree, I was holding down two part time jobs, and a full-time Army career. As you might imagine, I didn't sleep much. I was dedicated towards completing this degree and knew the payoff was going to be well worth the sacrifice. I don't tell you this to toot my own horn (because so many people have done things far harder than lose a little sleep to accomplish their goals), but to frame what I'm about to say next. During the time I was working on my Masters and in fact most of my military career as I was working on my Associates, my Bachelors, and then my Masters, I had people come to me and say "I admire you so much for what you're doing, and I'm Gonna start my education next semester. I can't really this semester because (insert the excuses here). I heard everything. "I didn't register in time", "I am so busy", "I just started reading a book", "I need to get my mind right". Those and so many other excuses. To those making them, they seemed pretty legit. To me, they sounded like what they were, excuses.
Why do we use excuses so much? Some people make full-time jobs out of making excuses and I'll say at least they're good at something. But friends, your goals aren't going to come knocking on your door. Your dreams aren't going to materialize themselves in front of you. Success equals action, and without action, your unfulfilled goals and dreams will never get any closer than they are today. The truth is, we are creatures of habit, we can be quite lazy, and we like our routines, especially our lazy routines. So throwing in some action is something we tend to naturally shy away from because action equals work. But I submit every great man and woman who has ever accomplished anything of note, has had to put in the time and had to do the work.
Earlier in this blog I mentioned my Masters, and I'll tell you that was a crowning personal achievement of mine. But I am as infallible as the next person. For many years, I was "gonna" lose that spare tire around my waist. You see friends, for many years I had chosen to be fat. I say chosen, because I never mistakenly ate anything. I nurtured my belly fat like it was a prized possession and I had become quite an expert at sucking the gut in at just the right point. I really thought it worked but I suspect the only person who believed that was me. Last summer I had finally had enough. I chose to stop wishing the pounds away (which doesn't work in case you're trying it) and decided to "do" something about it. 30lbs later and at the tender age of 42, I am truly happy with myself physically for the first time in many years. Again, I share this with you not to toot my own horn, but to demonstrate everything is possible with action, nothing is possible for those of us who are "gonna" do anything.
If you want that new job, to go back to school, to make more money, to stop smoking or drinking, to lose some weight, to whatever, you have to begin now. If you don't take definite action, you won't get definite results.
Today is January 27th, 2013. A year from now you could be well on your way to accomplishing your goals or maybe even having already accomplished them. You will be able to look back and remember the day you started on your journey. But if you're "gonna" do it tomorrow, the next day, when it warms up, when the kids get out of school, when the kids go back to school, or right after the holidays, you're going to be at this same point a year from now, wishing you had started today.
Change takes more than dreaming, goals take action. It's Sunday, a great day to start goals. Take that leap of faith. Make today the day you turned "I'm Gonna" into "I did."
I believe in you my friend, you just have to believe in yourself.
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