Season 5 has been all about equipping you with strategies, self-coaching concepts, and biblical wisdom to help you achieve the goals you set for yourself at the outset of this year.
How are you doing on your goals? If you’re still in it to win it, I want you to give yourself a pat on the back. Or, just look at yourself in the mirror and give yourself a little nod and a wink. Come on, do it. It’s fun. Acknowledge yourself and give yourself an atta girl!
Now, if you happen to have already bailed on your new year’s resolutions, today’s episode is for you. We are talking about taking relentless action and this skill is key to leveling up your life.
ABOUT THESE SHOW NOTES
Since I know there may be times when you would prefer to read the content rather than listen, I’ve provided text below. It is not an exact transcript but it provides you the essentials.
And time codes for the audio are in the brackets so you can jump to a particular spot if you want to review something specific.
Most People Quit
[1:41]
Did you know most podcasters quit before they publish 10 episodes. I get it. It’s hard work to put together an episode. It takes hours of effort to come up with ideas, research and develop those ideas into something that can hopefully help others.
And that’s the easy part. The scariest and hardest part is when people begin to listen to what you created.
A Compelling Why Prevents Quitting
With any goal, putting yourself out there to be judged and criticized by others is the hard part. But if your reason for accomplishing your goal (say, publishing a podcast) is compelling enough, you’ll stay at it in spite of the resistance and even the failures and missed deadlines along the way.
My Compelling Reason for Podcasting
You my friend are my compelling reason for doing this. You are why I keep showing up each week and why we are wrapping up our fifth season and 35th episode today!
The episodes produced so far have been download over 1900 times. And I’ve heard back from a few listeners that the content has really helped them. That is exactly why I do this.
I want to equip you to lean in to God and the calling he has put into your heart.
I want you to grow and become who He has created you to become and do what He put you on this earth to do.
The Real Point of Setting Goals
[3:35]
The whole point of setting and pursuing a goal is to grow and develop into the next version of yourself.
The actual goal itself is just a means by which God grows and matures and develops you to accomplish what He has uniquely called and equipped you to do in this world.
So setting goals and our pursuit of them is important work. It is also hard work.
Growth challenges us. It is rarely if ever without discomfort at best and downright pain at worst.
And that’s why by about this time of year most people have bailed on their New Year’s resolutions.
How to Resurrect Goals You’ve Quit On
If you’ve left your goals in the dust along with your good intentions that led you to set those New Year’s Resolutions, don’t worry.
What I’m sharing with you today is going to help you resurrect those goals and get you back in the game.
Why Getting Back On Track Is Essential
And getting back to actively pursuing the finish line is essential. No one else can do what you’ve uniquely been called to do.
[5:14]
Now you may think, “Oh my goal is just to lose weight, or organize my house, or something like that. How does that have anything to do with my calling or making an impact in the world?”
Oooo, I’m so glad you asked.
Remember, it isn’t primarily about the object of the goal you set. It is about who God will grow and evolve you into in the pursuit of the goal.
And so…
[6:14]
I’m doing the Proverbs 31 Online Bible study of Lysa TerKeurst’s new book, It’s Not Supposed to Be this Way. And in one of the weekly emails about the study Anna Currin said something about this verse that’s just too good not to share with you.
She said the following about persevering through a painful, unexpected time of suffering, but I think it is fitting for the pursuit of our goals as well:
“…when we view the pain we feel during the process as God’s way of preparing us for His promise, it changes things! As much as we’d like to push the fast forward button, rushing the process to relieve ourselves from the pain can actually cause more harm than good. If we try to numb our pain, or if God gave us the relief we desired before we’re ready, we’d miss out on the process of being molded, prepared and strengthened for what’s ahead. We’d be robbed of completeness.”—Anna Currin P31 OBS email for study
How to Not Give Up, Numb Up, or Stop Showing Up
[8:15]
So how do we not give up, numb up, or just stop showing up when going after our goals gets hard?
What do we do when:
- what we’ve tried falls flat?
- we blow it.
- someone criticizes us or rejects or blocks our efforts to reach our desired outcome?
That my friend is when we have to take relentless action.
5 Kinds of Action - Choose Wisely
[8:55]
So there are five different kinds of action when it comes to our goals:
- Inaction
- Action
- Distraction
- Passive action
- Relentless action
Inaction - Don’t Even Try
Inaction is not creating goals in the first place or creating them only to just let them go untried.
Action - Try But Quit When It Gets Hard
Action is what most people do. They take some action, hit resistance or fall on their face, miss a checkpoint or deadline, and then just quit.
Distraction - Prevents Discomfort (and Achieving Our Goal)
Distraction is when the experience of going after the goal is uncomfortable so we begin distracting ourselves with other things to numb that discomfort or keep it at bay. At best, distraction slows our progress. At worst, distraction pulls us away from the pursuit of the goal altogether.
Passive Action - Use With Caution
Passive action is what we do to prepare to take action that moves us forward to the finish line. So, consuming information by reading a book, taking a course, or asking for advice would all be examples of passive action.
There’s a time and place for passive action, but we must check our motive for undertaking passive action.
If we are learning and then applying and implementing what we learned, then we’re okay.
But if we are undertaking passive action because we are afraid, we have transformed passive action into distraction. So be careful and be sure your passive action is really necessary.
Relentless Action - Persevere and Press On No Matter What
Relentless action is taking action until we get the desired result. It is getting back up and going again when you fall on your face. It’s learning from mistakes, dead ends, and embarrassing defeats and trying something new over and over until you get the result you’re after.
Andy Andrews, best selling author of The Traveler’s Gift and coach to athletes, executives and even many past US presidents calls this the principle of persisting without exception.
My coach instructor, Brooke Castillo, calls it taking massive action.
The bible calls it perseverance.
Whatever you call it, do it.
It is what will change you and allow you to grow.
Lean into it because it is one of the ways God will sanctify and grow you into the full and complete version of yourself.
An Apostolic Example of Pressing On
[14:19]
The apostles spoke regularly about this concept in the New Testament. They knew a thing or two about having a calling and hitting serious, life-threatening, and in most of their cases, deadly resistance.
Yet, they went after their calling with a single-minded persistence.
Paul, for example, talks about his own relentless action in Philippians 3:7-14.
Notice how he speaks and what he believes about his future and attaining his prize of knowing Christ fully sharing in Jesus’ resurrection.
Take note of how real it is to Paul and because of how real it is to him what he does.
Click here to read the full passage on Bible Gateway.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:13-14, NIV
That my friend is relentless action. Pressing on no matter the obstacle, even to the point of death, to reach the goal.
Of course Paul is speaking of the ultimate goal, knowing Christ and being raised with Him. But I think there is valuable practical wisdom here for any goal we are pursuing.
The Role of Belief in Relentless Action
[18:07]
When our belief in the goal is strong and we can see it and know who we will become in the future attainment of it, our reason for pursuing it becomes very real and compelling.
The obstacles we run into and the failures along the way just become stepping stones to our future attainment of our goal. We will press on no matter what gets in our way.
We don’t give up and stop taking action to get us to that compelling future.
We stay focused on the prize and keep getting up and pressing on until we reach it.
What’s Your Goal?
[18:55]
So what’s the goal God has put on your heart?
You may think it silly and insignificant in comparison to what you just heard Paul talk about. But any goal that requires you to engage in relentless action to achieve it will be a vehicle for maturing and growing you into a next level version of yourself.
Who you will become in the pursuit of your goal will set you up for the next thing God will call you to undertake. And that goal, and who you will become to reach it, will position you to do the next thing.
Who will you have to become to reach your goal?
[19:55]
Will you lean in to God’s strength and let Him transform your weakness as a showcase for His glory?
Will you take relentless action and keep getting back up, finding another way forward, and persisting without exception?
If you will, you will be astonished at who you will become in the process.
Opportunities To Interact
I want to invite you to join me for some interactive discussion on this topic. I’ve got a couple different options for you. I hope you participate in both.
Coach’s Corner on Monday
First, I’m going to be doing a live Coach’s Corner video on Monday February 18 at 9:30 am Central time on the Agape SoulSpa Facebook page.
I’ll be sharing more about these different kinds of action. Using the backdrop of Jesus’ parable of the sower we will explore the various types of action and the results each one creates in our lives.
Friday Live Q & A
The second option is the Friday Live Q & A I do each week inside our private FB group, The Oasis. Click here to access the group.
So, if you have questions about this topic such as:
“How do I know if the obstacles are God closing a door and wanting me to go a different direction?”
or
“How do I figure out what actions to take or how to overcome the obstacles or resistance I’ve hit?”
Then you’ll want to come to the Friday Live Q & A on February 22 at 11 am Central. I’ll be answering those questions and any others you might have.
Interact Live or Catch the Replay
If you show up live to either the Coach’s Corner or the Live Q & A, you can ask questions and we can interact in real time. I would love to engage with you like that.
But even if you can’t join me live, catch the replays and post your comments and we can connect that way.
Season 6 Begins March 7, 2019
This episode rounds out Season 5. I’m going into content creation mode for the next couple weeks and I’ll have the first episode of Season 6 out on March 7.
In the meantime, check out past episodes you might have missed, or jump over to The Oasis and check out all the content I have there to help you renew your mind, revitalize your relationships and restore peace to your soul.
Have You Chosen a Free Gift Yet?
If you’re new to Agape SoulSpa, you may not have seen all the free gifts I’ve created for you.
Scripture Meditations to Shore Up Your Self Worth
If you struggle with believing you are good enough, click here to get the “Who You Are in Christ” Scripture meditations. (If you prefer reading to listening, still sign up as each meditation is accompanied by a written guide to the Scriptures uses in the audio download.)
Could your relationships use a makeover? Click here to begin revitalizing your relationships with yourself, God and the other people in your life. This quick and simple mini-course is delivered via email. You’ll be amazed at how such simple concepts can bring about such transformative results.
And if peace eludes you because your mind races with anxious thoughts, click here and get my easy guide to 5 strategies to calm anxious thoughts. The pdf guide and the follow up email coaching will restore much needed assurance.
Subscribe & Review
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And if you feel like showing me a little love, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes (this is where I pick my Listener Spotlight reviews) or in whatever app you listen in. Not sure how? Click here and I’ll walk you through it step by step!