Read and Review

Habakkuk 2: 2

Write down the vision and inscribe it clearly on tablets, so that one who reads it may run.

It is now a month since January 1st. Hopefully you wrote down some goals and have been pursuing them. It is time to go back and look at what you wrote down.

In this verse, God tells the listener to write down the vision. There is a second part, though. It is recorded so that it can be read. We have to go back and review the words God has given us and we need to do it frequently. Some of our goals develop into plans of action and then come forward into our daily activities. Perhaps you write them on your calendar in the daily to do items or track them on a monthly calendar. Regardless, we must have a way to track the pursuit of the goal. Are we taking the necessary steps, daily, which will lead to the attainment of our goals? Of course, if one of your goals was to read your Bible daily, then, obviously that is a daily activity and easily tracked. Other goals may not lend themselves to daily accounting as easily and this is where we must apply the second part of today’s verse. We need to make sure we are reviewing our goals daily so that we are in pursuit of our desired end result.

I wrote one down on January 5th that I fully intended to do. However, I was still in the process of setting and refining my goals and never got it transferred to a daily action item. Fourteen days later, I reviewed my written goals and realized I had let this one slip right through the cracks. Setting goals usually means we are initiating new patterns, things outside our normal habits. It is so easy to follow habitual patterns and not even see where a goal is being missed, even when we are sincere about that goal.

Big goals must be broken down into actionable items. The ones that happen daily are a bit easier to track than the ones that are only a weekly item. Here is what I am doing to help myself. I am writing my to do’s down on a monthly calendar and then I highlight that day when I have accomplished them. I also am journaling which gives me a place to write out my thoughts about why I might not have done all items for a day. The printed monthly calendar creates a picture. You can use multiple colors to indicate different items and also different indicators for completion or days you didn’t get it done. At the end of the week, you can see where you succeeded and which areas might need more attention. It is a very easy way to see, at a glance, if things are proceeding as planned.

I am sure you have some other good ideas of how to keep your goals and to do’s in front of you. Click the link below and share them with the group.