Goals of Joy

 

    You need to decide what joy means to you.  What do you want joy in your life?  Is it just for personal or to serve God?  Once you know what joy is and what you want from it, you can start setting small goals to get there?  Pray over it and see if God wants to change it up for you at all.

    Start with avoiding things and people that only focus on the negative.  You will never be able to escape negative thought processes until you do.  That means no more doom and gloom news.  It means limiting how closely you allow toxic people to get to you.  It means acknowledging where you need to change your thinking.

    Write out your life story: past, present, and future.  What do you want to see your future look like?  What needs to change to make that future a reality?  This is not about best intentions or nice thoughts.  This is serious change that you may have to take in your thinking and attitude.

    The whole point of a goal is to give you direction to move forward.  Start small and simple.  As you see progress, then you can grow your goals.  It can be saving for a long overdue vacation.  It can be finishing a book.  Maybe take a nap to recharge.  Maybe it is creating a check off list to get your house clean.  It doesn't matter where you start, just start.  

    By the way getting your hands and feet in dirt help bring out happy hormones.  That is why gardening is therapeutic.  Cleaning your house helps with an healthy attitude.  It also can bring about a since of accomplishment.

    Make goals to grow your faith and finances too.  God wants you to be a good steward, so that means you need to know how to manage time and money.  You need faith to have joy.  If you want more joy, then you need more faith.  

    Being able to set goals and move forward to achieve them reveal self-discipline.  That is an aspect that God likes to see grow.  Self-discipline means you can control your mind to focus on Godly love, excellent things, and praise to God.  Your goals reveal what you want in life, but also focus on how to make it happen.

    When setting your goals focus on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.  Be specific and write them out.  That way you can check them off as they are achieved.  Without written goals to help you focus, you you will waste mental energy just surviving and allow your mind to go places that will take you away from your joy.  Your mind follows patterns.  It takes time to set a pattern toward joy.  

    Joy-producing goals force you to grow.  They will simplify your life.  They will build character and discipline.  You will be able to see things more clearly and show you potential for a different way of living.  Over time they will transform your world.  

Psalm 92:4-7, 94:16-19, 100, Luke 2:8-12, 15:3-10, Romans 12:9-13, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, & 1 Peter 1:8-9