“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
Writing a book has been on my goal list for a long time. Often it seemed like I was making no progress at all. Yet, I was. Truthfully, God was doing much in me to deepen the message before it was ready to write. I understood the concept I was writing about, saying yes to God is the secret to a satisfying and fulfilling life, but I needed to do more living before the message was “ripe.”
Now that I am in the home stretch, I am not saying I have achieved “perfection” when it comes to living out that message, but I know that God has released it into the long-planned book. Before the end of this summer the book will be published. It’s hard to believe.
Why am I sharing this with you? Like me, you may be experiencing discouragement along your goal-accomplishment journey. You may feel like you are not making progress. It was easy for me to feel like I was failing because there was no book to point to. No manuscript or cover design. Only an outline and a few chapters. I did not allow myself to celebrate what I had done. I felt like a failure because of what I had not done.
Dear friend, learn to celebrate what you accomplish, not how much. We can get bogged down in comparisons. We compare our accomplishments to someone else’s or to our expectations of ourselves. Is what you expect of yourself reasonable?
Here are some questions to help you evaluate your progress.
Are you comparing your progress to someone else’s? What God is doing in you is not the same as the person who seems to be further along. Note the word “seems.” You don’t know the whole story. So quit comparing and keep your eyes forward.
Are your expectations reasonable? I expected to be further along sooner. That expectation led to frustration and negative self-talk. You can be positive about your slow progress without ignoring any needed corrections. Just keep plugging along.
Are you further now than you were when you began? This is what counts. Every step is progress. If you are further along, you have something to celebrate. It may not be much, but it still counts. Dear friend, it can be easy to believe that small steps forward don’t count, but they do! It’s not about how far you have come. It’s about being further than you were.
When reviewing your goal progress be sure to evaluate forward motion. Even two steps forward are further than you were. Even a task that is in process but incomplete is forward motion. Press on!
If you have made any forward motion at all then you have something to celebrate. Give yourself credit for the effort it took to take that small step forward. Congratulations!
Key Question: Are you properly evaluating your progress?
A Scripture to Consider: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
A YES Challenge: Set regular times to prayerfully evaluate your goal progress. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal where you have moved forward toward the goals you’ve set. Allow Him to encourage you and show you what to do next.
Prayer: Lord, sometimes I get frustrated and feel like I should be further along than I am. Help me to evaluate my progress properly. Help me to see where I have grown and not where I haven’t. Help me not to compare myself to someone else or even to my own expectations. Give me grace to celebrate any progress, even if it’s less than I expected. Amen.