The week between Christmas and New Years I not only spend time with family, and catching up on rest, but to answer the question:
To be honest, last year was a little rough. While I hit some major milestones and accomplished a lot, I still fell short of most of my goals. You might ask What Went Wrong?
It could be blamed on poor strategy or maybe my goals were unrealistic; however, the number one obstacle that I faced last year was:
I knew my goals were possible, I just didn’t think I had the ability, strength or wisdom to reach them. I thought I was alone with this self-doubt but as I’ve worked with clients over the years I’ve learned this is a shared obstacle.
Where does the doubt come from? It can come from past hurts and failures. It’s the enemy poisoning our thoughts. Regardless of the reason it’s something you can overcome.
If a lack of confidence has derailed you take the time to examine these areas so that you can set the right goals for the new year:
When you are too busy you are too tired to focus. You start to make mistakes and all those little bits of failure come back to haunt you.
With time and margin you can anticipate life’s little interruptions. You’ll have the ability to approach them without worrying about falling behind. A clearer mind brings confidence.
To learn more about managing time and margin read this: How To Create More Margin In Your Schedule
When you don’t believe in yourself you need others to believe in you. That belief is going to come from people you’ve let into your life and invited to hold you accountable.
To find those people you need to start asking questions about their life and listening. Invest in them, in the way you wanted to be invested.
Invite them into your life by sharing with them your goals and dreams. Let them know about your failures and successes. It takes some vulnerability but it’s always worth it.
Your relationship with God matters. I know that might be stating the obvious but it’s not an overstatement. But, when you lack self confidence you need to remember you were created in His perfect image.
While looking at your prayer habits are important it’s also necessary to look at your perception of God. If you’ve never had a spiritual director or been in a faith joining small group make that a priority.
Are these the only areas you need to address? Certainly not, but they will help you find the ability to really look at who God has created you to be.
Which one of these areas do you need to examine the most?