A New Opportunity to Achieve Your Dream

A fresh start, new beginning, turned page - or - a new month and quarter can bring forth a fresh perspective. Any way you look at it, October 1st brings something different. It's not that it's just a new season and autumn can certainly be felt in the chill of the morning air, it's knowing that with October comes the sobering reality that the end of the year is not far behind it. Panic sometimes sets in as we realize we are only three short months out from missing the mark on our yearly goal(s). 

If you are anything like me, this panic will likely freeze you in place momentarily as you lose your bearings and your grip on your calendar. Don't let it come crashing down to the floor beside you, instead, grip tightly and reassess. There's still time!

The beginning of a new quarter is an excellent time to review your goals and adjust your expectations to be more realistic. Let's review together:

• Is what you are wanting to do attainable in the time that remains this year?
• Can the deadline be extended to accommodate for the delays that have occurred?
• Has your overall goal shifted or changed?
• What steps can you realistically do the month of October towards achieving the goal?
• What steps can you realistically do the month of November towards achieving the goal?
• What steps can you realistically do the month of December towards achieving the goal?
• What steps remain after breaking it down across the final three months and how much time do you realistically need to complete them?
• What does your new end date look like for a goal date?

When you ask these questions, you are giving yourself the chance to make adjustments to fit your lifestyle and hectic schedule. It is important to remember that some deadlines are set in stone and cannot be changed, but others are likely there as a boundary you set in motion for yourself that can be shifted. 

This is the point in my blog where I remind you to give yourself grace and let you in on the secret that even I miss the mark when it comes to achieving my goals each year. It happens! What you do next, however, is what will make the difference in whether or not you'll achieve your goal at some point in the future. Do not quit, do not give up, do not sit and freeze! Get going! You can do it!

Time will always pass us by, we will always regret not achieving what we set out to do when we said we wanted to do it, unless we take every opportunity we get to try harder, push more, and do whatever it takes to get it done. 

For me, it looks like scheduling it in the morning instead of sleeping in because it's dark when my alarm goes off. Colder weather isn't an excuse to put all your duties aside, if anything, it should be motivation to get it done quicker so you can enjoy more moments wrapped up by the fire with a hot cup of cocoa and a book to read.

May you heed the words spoken on this week's podcast from Lori Keesey "If I don’t fulfill my purpose, I might prevent someone else from achieving his or her purpose."

Your life is full of purpose. That, my friend, is cause for celebration.

With Grace, Shonda