Tag Archives: goals

Gardeners and their Gardens

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Ever wonder why something happens in your life?

Ever wonder why something doesn’t happen?

All things in life happen as a result. From the simple impulses that generate activity and movement in our bodies to the massive events that occur in our lives from words spoken, actions taken, behavior displayed, and thoughts executed. Things happen as results.

 

We reap what we sow.

 

The best picture I see of this is from the life of a gardener and the need to sow in order to reap.

 

Gardeners Delight

 

 

 

 

The gardener sows specific seeds

I am not an expert in farming or gardening; in fact I have no green thumbs, but I do know that if I expect to harvest some fruit and vegetables I need to sow some seed. Specific seed. The gardener decides (or knows) what they would like to grow and plants specific seeds to achieve those results. Specific seeds yield specific fruit. Every time I have asked a gardener what they planted in a garden they tell me exactly what they expect. They know this because they were specific in what seeds they sowed.


The gardener has expectations

I have yet to talk with a gardener that does not have expectations from the seeds sown. Most gardeners have tremendous, large expectations. Expectations to a gardener are fuel

for their passion. A fuel that propels them and sustains them as they endure the season from sowing to reaping. Expectation is met with excitement when little green shoots project skyward thru the cultivated soil. Talk with any gardener and they will tell you what they expect from the seeds they have sown. Their eyes light up when they tell you how much, how tasty and how good their harvest will be.

 

The gardener places what he wants to get

Row upon row of fertile ground is worked, cultivated and nurtured because seeds will be placed into the soil. The seeds placed are what the gardener wants to grow. A gardener

does not plant a seed of corn expecting cucumbers. He places in the ground the seed which has in it the DNA of the final product. There is no guessing at what he will reap; in fact, he knows before he sows what he will get by way of taste, look, feel, color. He places into the ground what he wants to get out of the ground.

 

The gardener is always thinking sowing and reaping

When a garden is planned and developed the mindest that is found in a gardener is that both of sowing and reaping. It is not one or the other. It is both. Having a continual mindset of sowing and a continual mindset of reaping is what keeps the gardener creative, intuitive and flexible. The mindset of sowing places the gardener in a process of evaluation and determination. The mindset of reaping places the gardener in of process of evaluation and expectation. Changes in methods are the result of the evaluation of both the seed and the fruit received. Creativity enters to enhance the process and the results.

Gardening is all about the results 

Everything a gardener does is for the final product. The drive to get up early and work the soil is because of the payoff at the end. The reason the soil is cultivated and nurtured is because the gardener wants results. Weeds are pulled so the plants will get every bit of nourishment and nothing will go wasted elsewhere – why? because the gardener wants the best results. The attention to detail is so the final product will be the best. Every gardener takes pride in the results, and so they should. The better the results the bigger the smile.

 

God’s Word is not silent about gardening

He paints pictures of garden throughout the Bible. He planted the first garden…and it was good, real good. Jesus refers to the Word as seed and its activity in our lives.

If you want to see different results in your life check the seeds that are being planted in your life.

If you want to see different results in relationships check the seeds that are being planted.


Sow SPECIFIC seeds, sow with EXPECTATION, place IN what you want to GET OUT, have a CONTINUAL mindset of sowing and reaping, sow for RESULTS, and most importantly SOW the WORD

 

 

 

I would love your comments and feedback…
Always sowing, always reaping

David

TAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE

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On the road to accomplishing big goals and lofty dreams life can become tedious, obstacles overwhelming, excitement can vanish and desire disappear. These are feelings and emotions that we must combat. So how can we combat these common enemies.

When the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground the Lord instructed Joshua to have twelve men (one from each tribe) take twelve stones out of the river and place them where the people lodged (Joshua 4:1-8). The purpose of the stones was to act as a remembrance of what the Lord had done. It was a distinguishing mark of the beginning of the possession of the Promised Land, a physical display of the promise to come, the beginning of the realization of a goal.

I can only imagine some of the stories and exchanges that happened around the pile of stones. What a time of encouragement, celebration and refreshing. How many times do you think families gathered around those stones and rehearsed the treasures of miraculous provision.

On your course to a goal that may seem to grow deeper and deeper take time to celebrate the little achievements, the miracles, the miniscule steps. The small accomplishments serve as fuel to keep going, the kindling that keeps the dreams burning, the oxygen that breathes life into tired weary bodies. Take time to remember your victories, celebrate a miracle, rehearse the fruit of discipline. Tell others that are on the same journey what the signposts mean.

You will find renewed energy and resolve to maintain the discipline that is required to reach a goal every time you rehearse an accomplishment. Don’t stay at the victory celebration keep moving, but enjoy the satisfaction of a goal reached.

As you practice this principle of celebrating the small victories you will find encouragement, and the big intimidating goal will be brought down in size.

 

Dream BIG, step small

David

Setting SMART Goals

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Today I would like to break down how to set goals to a short acronym that I hope helps you become more successful. The acronym I would like to use is S M A R T (This acronym is not my original idea, but it is commonly used by instructors on this subject). Should you decide to ‘Google’ SMART goals you will find some more very useful information.

  • Specific – Have a specific goal. When it is specific it can be well defined and understood. A quick way to frustrate a child is to give them an instruction with no specifics. Try setting a goal and making it specific, clear and defined.
  • Measurable – When you set a goal can you measure it? If the answer to this is ‘No’ how do you know when it is reached? Set a goal of reading one chapter an evening in a specific book, or reading for a set amount of time. Perhaps your goal is to run and exercise; then set a goal to go running for a set distance (more than to the fridge during TV commercials).  Maybe you want to lose weight, set a measurable goal, not just I want to lose weight, but how much weight. This is a measurable goal. Make it meaningful and measurable.
  • Achievable – Goals are targets which stretch you, but are achievable. For instance if you want to run and exercise regularly setting a goal of running a 3 minute mile is not achievable (professional runners do not run that fast). Maybe set it for 6 or 7 minutes, maybe quicker, maybe slower. Setting goals that are not achievable is a quick way to lose morale and an easy way to excuse yourself of any personal accountability. Accountability helps in achievement.
  • Realistic – Goals need to be real and realistic. I constantly encourage people to dream BIG, because the God I serve loves to work in the arena of BIG. However when I consider goals in this context there should be a basis of reality found in the goal. An unrealistic goal will sap you of energy and expectancy quicker than water drains from a sink. An example of an unrealistic goal is for a 45 year old person (not naming myself here) setting a goal to be a professional hockey player, whereas a realistic goal looks more like a 45 year old person setting a goal to make a specific local community hockey team (age specific in my situation).
  • Time – Some goals can be short term, and some are definitely long term, but they all involve an element of time or completion. Setting goals but not having a time limit or expected completion is not wise. You may not know a time limit for you goal, but you know a completion picture (such as I want to lose 10 lbs is a completion picture); or you might not know the completion picture but you have a time limit. Set a goal for a specific time or completion, that will motivate you towards the finishing point.

While all of us may have different goals, dreams and desires when you break a goal down it can be manageable and achievable. Set lofty goals, set large goals, set BIG goals, then assess the goals and break them down to Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time goals. As you do this you will find more successful completion of goals that you used to think were unrealistic and unachievable.

Setting more goals,

David

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS

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I have had many discussions with people regarding goals, the future, dreams, plans, what they want to be when they grow up, etc. Discussions with retired folks, tired folks, young people, newly wed, nearly wed, happy singles (and those not wanting to be single) and even children. Sometimes the individual is very focused on what their goal is, sometimes not so much. Sometimes the individual has no idea about the future, other times the future is so intricately planned I wonder if there is any room for a hiccup. From all my discussions I have found this topic to be one of great stress and consternation.

Through my life I have found a number of things that have helped me, and equally a number of things that have frustrated me when I make goals. Over the next few blog postings I would like to share with you some of my thoughts about goals and I would love to have your feedback, comments or questions.

When I went from elementary school to high school my parents decided to enroll me (and a number of my siblings) into our local church school which was just starting out. My temper tantrums and manipulations did not change my parents mind, it only gave them more resolve. The school was not set in a traditional classroom, but rather each student had their desk referred to as a cubicle (the sides of the desk were high enough to discourage communication with your neighbouring student, whether she was a cute girl or a sport fanatic like myself). The mindset behind the school was for individual learning and not classroom style learning.

One of the first lessons we were taught and required to do was to make a ‘goal’ for the day. This took the form of a chart where we wrote each subject down and then wrote how many pages we were going to do in that subject for the day. It did not take long for some of us to realize that if we set ‘low’ goals we would then get our schoolwork completed sooner and we could fool around (whatever that look liked). Shortly after we came upon this great realization we encountered another ‘light bulb’ moment. If we set ‘low’ goals that were not stretching or pushing us it would take us much longer to complete our prescribed material (long term goals) and thus our school year would be lengthened (not something any active young boy desires or wants). Our goals needed to reflect our long term dreams and not just our short term desires

The lessons I learned are:
• if you set too low of a goal you will not stretch yourself
• if you set a short sighted goal you may adversely affect your long term goal
• your short term goals should reflect your long term goals
• set your long term goals, then set your short term goals

I guess I learned a few more things than just the Pythagoras Theorem and Newton’s Laws;

What are some goals that you have set?
Do your short term goals reflect your long term plans?

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5 NLT)

Working towards my goals,
david

Behind the Wheel of a Red Ford Escort – part five

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Don’t focus on the oncoming traffic

So the driving lessons are continuing and my growth was very evident. I had learned to keep my eyes on the road, look ahead to where I was going, look further down the road, and then I came to the last lesson – don’t focus on the oncoming traffic.

I had applied all the lessons my Dad had taught me, and all my siblings and parents were surviving, but every once and awhile a mild case of distraction would emerge. My eyes were on the road, but when I looked at the vehicles coming my way they would somehow captivate my vision, my eyes would wander from the black pavement to the bright lights on the horizon. The lights were mesmerizing, they danced upon the horizon and would undulate with the profile of the road, but what I did not know was the more my eyes were on the oncoming vehicles the more the vehicle would stray towards them. A little distraction had the potential of a deadly result. His advice was simple do not get distracted. Distractions can be deadly.

This lesson carries a profound application to our lives. Distractions are what they are; something that takes your attraction from your goal to something that is not your goal. On the road of life we all face oncoming traffic, not having it distract you is important. Focus on the things on the road ahead of you, not the vehicles going the opposite direction.

In Numbers 14 there is the account of the twelve spies that went in to the Promise Land to spy it out and give a report. Ten spies saw the problems, while Joshua and Caleb saw the promises. Joshua and Caleb were focusing on the road ahead of them, while the other ten spies saw distractions which ultimately prevented the whole nation of Israel from entering the promised land. A few points that I see from this story will help you in dealing with distractions:

  • focus your eyes forward, where you are going
  • oncoming traffic is not going with you, but against you
  • don’t waste your energy on things that detract you from your goal
  • distractions will come, assess them, address them and then move on (to the point of ignoring them)

Don’t let distractions deter you from your goal. Do not become sidetracked by pesky things which will not help you reach your objectives

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Assess, address, progress

No distractions

david