I am always surprised when all of the little messages I hear start to spell out one big message. There’s always a theme and I fail to hear God saying “There’s a theme here, Rach.” This year that message for me has been: “dream ”. “Dream” in verb form, that is. I’m not sure who I am these days, but I find a deep satisfaction in defining my dreams and setting goals. I’m hosting a vision board party this week. Who am I?

Defining your deepest desires and dreams, much less sharing them with everyone, has a way of making you feel extremely vulnerable. Once we define our dreams, we are faced with the reality that we, most likely, can’t make it happen on our own. The truth is, if we can accomplish our dream on our own, it’s probably not that awesome and we need to dream bigger. We ask God to move in our lives, show us who He is, but we put Him in a little box by asking Him to fulfill our human-sized dreams.

Developing this website has been a dream of mine for years. I’d be okay never knowing how many hours I spent daydreaming about it. I never believed it would actually happen for a lot of ridiculous reasons, thanks to SATAN. But I was trying to see this dream happen through the wrong lens. Probably through my fake glasses from the dollar store that are super foggy and put my life in danger more often than not. I thought I had to reach this goal through my own resources when this dream was actually WAY too big to accomplish through my power alone. I believe that God wants to show us just how powerful He is through dreams that are way bigger than us.

I am also discovering our dreams are more about the journey than the destination. God has done a great work in me through this website, and I’ve experienced miraculous freedom just through acknowledging this passion He gave me and allowing Him to bring it life. My dream is to help bring freedom to as many people as God wants, but the freedom I’ve experienced through this dream was unexpected and life-changing. Expect Him to do a work in you first.

Also, a little side note to put in your back pocket: Be selective in who you share your dreams with. Don’t share until you’re ready. You want to develop an unshakeable confidence because I promise you won’t always receive the reaction or support you expect. Although some of you may be able to embrace the “haters are my motivators.” Not me. Haters crush my spirit and I need my spirit, thanks!

All that being said, dreams don’t have to be scary. God calls us to not be afraid of or embarrassed by the dreams He’s placed in us, but define them and trust Him with them. It sounds simple doesn’t it? Trust Him and take action. Dreams without action are fantasies.

I want to encourage you to define your dreams for 2016. I’m sharing these key points to help you develop your health-related goals in a way that will set you up for success. It can be hard to discern if our goals are too easy or unattainable.

Why?

Is this goal helping you fulfill a god-given desire? Why is it so important for you to reach this goal? If you find that your reasons are less than healthy, than adjust your “why”. It doesn’t mean you have to eliminate your goal all together. Just adjust it.

OK GOAL: Lose 15 lbs. in 2016 so I can look and feel better in my clothes.

BETTER GOAL: Lose 15 lbs. in 2016 so I can feel my best and continue to feel proud of my body.

How can I be more specific?

OK GOAL: I will exercise more starting January 1st.

BETTER GOAL: I will exercise 30 minutes at a time, 3 times per week.

When? Where? & How often?

OK GOAL: I will drink more water.

BETTER GOAL: Every day I will drink 5 16 oz. water bottles; 2 before noon and 3 after noon.

Ask yourself: When would be a good time to incorporate water consumption in my typical day? Where do I make water accessible for myself? How can I make it more easily accessible?

How can I state this positively?

OK GOAL: I will not eat high sugar, processed foods after evening meals.

BETTER GOAL: I will prepare a healthful dessert to eat after evening meals or I will eat fruit.

Am I being realistic?

OK GOAL: I want to lose 40 lbs. in 3 months.

BETTER GOAL: I want to lose 1-2 lb. per week or 5 -10 lbs. per month

Be honest with yourself. It’s better to start small than to set yourself up for failure. For example, if you haven’t exercised in 2 months I wouldn’t start with telling yourself you want to exercise an hour a day, 5 days per week. Yes, you might maintain this for a week or so, but there’s a reason you didn’t exercise that often in the first place. Cut yourself some slack. Maybe you’ve entered into a busy season of life and 3 days per week is all you can offer physically and emotionally right now. These goals are to enhance your health and not to harm it by bringing on stress.

Is this goal focused on a temporary desire?

If your goals are set on an outcome that is temporary, you’ll definitely compromise in moments of temptation and weakness. For example:

OK GOAL: I will choose healthy options more often than not, so I will feel more energy throughout the day.

What’s going to happen on the days when you don’t care about having energy? This goal would provide an eternal perspective:

BETTER GOAL: I will choose healthy options more often because I live for something greater than satisfying my taste buds.”

You’re not just pulling a Jesus card, you’re telling yourself life-giving truth that will help you reach this goal, this dream placed in your heart to finally live a healthy lifestyle that has seemed impossible for you in the past.

I hope you feel inspired to make goals that you’re proud of.

Happy New Year!