Have you ever taken the time to dream and envision what you want out of life? What is it that you really want? Why not go after it? Whatever you desire, don’t be afraid to go after it, because whatever you dream and believe, you can achieve if you are intentional.
I remember towards the end of the year 2017, I began to plan and pray about the new year and what I wanted my life to look like. As I began to pray, I felt in my heart the word ‘intentionality.’ That word became the theme of my life during the next year. The year 2018 was one of the most life-changing years of my life, second to this year, of course. This year has been one for the record books with the amount of transformation I’ve been experiencing. But 2018 was a foundational year because it was the year I became intentional about creating what I wanted to see. Before that time, I was just living life on autopilot, just going about life with no true sense of direction or goals. I was just living day to day, doing what was required of me. I was no longer dreaming about what I truly wanted for my future. I had gotten to a place in my life where I was comfortable, but deep inside I knew God had so much more in store for me. When I became intentional, everything changed.
The year 2018 was the same year I started my blog with the intention of sharing my personal growth journey and everything I was learning, because it had changed my life so much. When I became intentional, I started to realize that there was truly a purpose in every day and that what I did every day truly mattered. My everyday habits were creating my reality, so if I wasn’t satisfied with my life, I needed to be intentional about creating what I wanted to see. I took the time to really think about what I wanted for that year of my life and I set a goal of making it one of the best years of my life. That was also the year that I accomplished every single goal I had written down.
This year has been such a beautiful year of transformation for me. I believe that my fitness journey has been helping me build the discipline I needed to push forward towards my goals. I really set myself up to win by planning out what I wanted to see and working on it every single day. The start of my fitness journey was hard, but I didn’t quit. Looking back, I realized that in order to position yourself to win with your goals, you have to challenge yourself to stay consistent because reality is that you won’t always be motivated. Building consistency and discipline is how you truly set yourself up to win. The journey to accomplishing your goals will never be perfect, but if you keep working towards it, the results will come.
I coined this year as my running year. One of my goals this year was to run a 5K and 10K race. I find it fascinating how the journey actually started for me. My husband’s friend invited him to run in the Louisiana Marathon race, in which they were going to do the half marathon together. During the initial meet and greet the day before the race, my family and I walked into the River Center, where many booths were set up, and one in particular caught our eyes, so we stopped by the table to check it out. The vendor booth was set up by an organization called Ainsley’s Angels. Ainsley’s Angels is an organization dedicated to fighting for inclusion in all things, providing chariots for people with special abilities to ride in so that they can be involved in the race. Since two of my kids are special needs and wheelchair-bound, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to connect and get them involved.
Once we connected, we signed up for our first race, which was a 10K Mardi Gras Mambo. At that time, I had never run a race, so I was a brand new runner, and the race was scheduled for the following week. I really believed I could do it, although I had never run a 10K before, but I figured all my weekly strength training could be put to the test. Race day came, and I finished the race pushing my daughter in the chariot with ease. Of course, I felt the pain of it all later that night, but it was all worth it. I got so excited about completing my first race that I started running four to five times a week just to help build endurance. Running started to become something I really enjoyed doing, as it gave me a way to clear my mind, connect with God, and get refreshed daily. I signed up to do my first 5K in May, and by the end of the year, I had already done a total of four races. Setting a goal to run a 5K and 10K really added so much fun to my year and introduced me to a passion that has changed my life for the better.
That’s the beauty of setting goals and creating a vision for your year. You never know the beauty of what can come from starting with intention. These are some thing I have learned from my journey this year about setting yourself up to win:
1. Envision it
First you have to envision exactly what you want. When you understand the big picture you can figure out the steps you need to get there. Keep the vision in front of you everyday so that you can remember the overall purpose of what you are doing.
2. Believe it
Next you have to believe that what you envision will and can actually happen. Whatever the mind believes it will figure out a way to achieve. I truly believe that I was going to accomplish my vision that year and I did. I wasn’t afraid to put in the work because I truly believe that I could do it if I stayed intentional and focused.
3. Plan it
Planning was one of the most critical parts. I started writing my goals down, I created a vision board and I wrote out small steps that I could take to accomplish my goals. I created a scheduled that helped me to be able to work on my goals everyday. I asked myself, “What small things can I do everyday to help me accomplish my bigger goals?
4. Create it
You have to create what you want to see. You create reality by taking action and being intentional with your time everyday. Everyday won’t be perfect, so don’t expect perfection. Creating a routine and being intentional everyday is very difficult in the beginning but once you find your rhythm you will be unstoppable. Work the plan you wrote down and make adjustments where you have to. If you mess up, don’t give up! Start where you are and move forward.
5. Live it
Live your new reality! You will notice the difference being intentional makes in your life. You will have a different type of energy and freshness. You will be inspired to dream, dream, dream! You will notice the growth and the transformation. As you live it, always remember that you must continue to be intentional going forward, and that you must continually grow, develop, and adjust in order to keep the freshness alive.
It’s possible to live the life you desire if you are intentional. Anything you want you can achieve if you take time to envision, plan and work on it every single day. Being intentional changed my life so much. It’s awakened in me a fresh and new desire to dream big. Don’t ever give up on the things you want! Start now, by being intentional and creating what you desire to see. I pray that this next year would be one of the best yet for you. I want to encourage you to take the time to think about what you want to see. Envision it, believe it, plan it, create it and live it! You only get one life so why not give it everything you’ve got? Thanks for reading! I hope this encourages you.
What’s a goal you have for 2025?
Comment below. I would love to hear your story.
Intentional Hope 