Enjoying the Journey

Focus on the journey, not the destination. 
Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”  Greg Anderson

Week 33

If you were late joining my blog, let me remind you about my main goal for writing this blog.  On September 4^th I turned 60 years old…I wanted to do something memorable to celebrate the occasion and discovered that  it might be a fun challenge to actually work on something for the entire year.   My goal was to attempt to be better at 61 than I was at 60.  I wanted to be healthier, less stressed and more purposefully living my life.  Although the goal was lofty, I would go about it through small steps…thus my blog’s name. (smallsteps4bigresults)  I then decided that I would treat it as an experiment and see if small steps would indeed bring me the big results that I wanted in my life.    I am now ½ of the way to my destination and I decided it's a good time to review, reflect, and, if need be, re-adjust.  

This week I wrote down each one of my small step goals I have set this year (don’t worry…I’m not going to make you read them all over again).  I created a 5 point scale for each (5 – I almost always meet my goal – to 1 – hardly ever meet my goal).  Although some of my goals are quite recent, I decided to give them all the same weight in my calculation.

I placed a number next to each goal, based on how I was feeling about my success, then I added up the total and divided it by the number of goals.  I found that I averaged a 4+.  I was really pleased with that.  That means that for the most part I am often accomplishing my goals each week.  I then took each of the goals that I scored a 3 or less on and reflected on whether I wanted to just toss the goal out, start over with the goal, or perhaps just readjust it. 

I had an 'aha' moment while I was doing this exercise.  I realize that my intention for this project isn't any longer just about arriving at the finish line with my goal achieved, but instead it's about enjoying the journey itself, and that has now become my focus, much more so than the destination. 

The living of a healthier lifestyle just makes me feel better on a day to day basis. Being more purposeful and living more intentionally motivates me to pay more attention to the Lord's blessings around me. I’m spending more time in God’s word and taking more responsibility for my precious gift of time. 

Through writing this weekly blog it has required me to continuously reflect and evaluate how I’m living my life…and I would love it if you would all jump on board with me and do the same.

Small Step:  Enjoy the Journey