The best is still yet to come

One afternoon, my daughters were outside in front of our house. I was planting some pansies, and I saw my middle daughter lean over and pick up a caterpillar that she found crawling on the grass. She then cupped the little caterpillar, hiding it in her two hands.

After that, she walked over to her sister, reaching out her arms in front of her and keenly asked, “Guess what’s in my hands?”

Without missing a beat, my daughter answered, “Well, you should know… it’s in your hands!”

I had to smile. And then I thought: our life is in our hands. We can shape the future the way we desire it to be. For it is created, most often, by our attitude, our actions, choices and deeds. Therefore, we should define our life exactly as we desire it to be, for us to enjoy love, good health, happiness, peace and purpose.

What is it that you really want in each area of your life? In your heart, what sort of goals would you like to accomplish?

Hence, take your time identifying your objectives, really thinking them through to fruition. Free your mind from all limitations, and ponder upon goals that you would love to complete that would have a positive impact on your life and the lives of others.

I’ve always found it helpful to list my goals on a sheet of paper and place it where I can see it often. This keeps me more focused and organized. Next,

I see myself as actually living my dream in colorful, vivid pictures, visualizing goals as already complete. Also, it can be beneficial to break down your objectives into little steps; creating a plan you’ll follow in order to achieve those aspirations. Fern, a friend of mine from Florida, who is an avid tennis player declares, “In tennis, it is one point at a time.” To achieve anything worthwhile, you must go about it one step at a time, and as in tennis, “one point at a time.” Clear, specific, goals and written plans, which you single-mindedly follow and work on implementing each day, will increase your probability of success.

God wants you to use all of your gifts and talents. There are no limits to what you can accomplish. Your potential is boundless. I recall what Thomas Edison said, “If we did all the things, we were capable of doing, we would astonish ourselves.” With your extraordinary abilities, you have within yourself the capability to achieve almost any Godinspired goal you set.

So, don’t compromise what you truly want. You have so much to give. Thus, never sell yourself short. By underestimating yourself, you can live far below what you are truly able to accomplish. Do not be trapped by the past, afraid of failure or rejections. Stop dwelling on what happened longago or focusing on the circumstances that you cannot change. Sometime ago, a reader wrote that because of company downsizing, he lost his corporate sales job. But rather than being angry toward the company, he explained how the sudden loss of his job made him re-evaluate his life. “I took a step back, and saw this challenge as an opportunity to do something different,” he wrote.

Feeling a renewed sense of purpose, this reader decided to go back to school to finish his degree in the medical field. He did not procrastinate. He developed a plan, and got into motion, telling himself daily, “Dare to go forward,” “Make the effort,” “Start,” and “It will be well worth it.” For if we wait

for perfect conditions, we’ll never get anything done!

Pursuing his goal wasn’t easy, but today, this reader is indeed working in medicine, positively affecting others, and he is living the life for which he believes he was destined. He concluded his letter, “Although it was difficult at the time when I was let go from my job, now I look back on that change with gratitude to God.”

A transformation can begin at this moment, so believe in yourself and move toward your goals. I like what Saint Francis of Assisi once wrote, “Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

You can create the life of your dreams. The best is still yet to come. There is joy, peace and life ahead.

On the morning of my friend Michelle’s birthday, her dad called her on the telephone to wish her a ‘happy birthday.’ Next, her father asked Michelle, “Have you given any thought to what you want the next year of your life to be like?”

She was silent for a few minutes. And I love how Michelle answered, “That is a question you should ask every day… 365 days a year! Life was meant to be lived each day with purpose and on purpose.”

I’ve heard it said that, “Defining moments define us.” So, let this be that defining day, as we set our goals, and act upon the beautiful dreams of our hearts. Each moment, every week, and 365 days a year, let’s reach forth to the height of God’s great plan and purpose.

…It’s time!