I AM READY!
It was a blessing to ring in the New Year at the Love and Faith Ministry.
Apostle Claude Brooks never fails to deliver a message for us to have a paradigm shift.

I had many takeaways from his message, including the importance of renewing the mind because God will not pour new wine into old wineskins.
Fermented drinks such as wine expand, and since an old wineskin would already be stretched to its limit, the new wine would tear the seams.

This is why new wine needed to be preserved in new wineskins. As the wine expanded, the new skins would stretch to accommodate it.
Jesus was making a very specific point to John the Baptist. He was here to do something completely new. If John (or anyone else) tried to make sense of it through a lens of old expectations and regulations, they’d miss the amazing thing that was happening.

God has great plans for our lives for this new, but it is up to us to be in the right mindset to facilitate the manifestation. I can never forget the emotions I felt watching the last minute on the clock as the hand clicked every second. Many people worldwide drew their last breath and did not make it into 2023.

I felt mixed emotions at that moment, remembering some of the happy and sad moments in 2022 and images of my 2023 mind movie.  Most people probably already set their goals, and some are still fine-tuning. I am sharing some things to consider what will make our goal-setting more effective, giving us the results we anticipate.

This is designed to keep our commitment going for long periods, building our motivation and taking the necessary action to achieve our goals.
The AWESOME model has seven elements to ensure that our vision converts into reality:
AMBITION: This focuses on the future and the ideal reality we want to create.

WHY: Your ‘why’ will fuel your motivation and help you overcome any obstacle between you and your goal.
EXECUTABLE: Your goal has to be big enough to make you feel excited, but not too big to paralyze you with fear.
SPECIFIC: You must understand all the elements that make up your goal so you can measure if you’re on the right track.
OBJECTIVE: You must have clarity on the steps you need to take to achieve your goal.

MEASURABLE: You have to have ways to measure your progress every month to know where you stand.
EXPIRATION: Your goal has to have an expiring timeline because a deadline will naturally move you into action.
These tips can assist you with setting your goals and creating your action plan. It is great to write your goals down but creating an action plan is very important because that is how you get the results.

The suggested areas we need to apply were mentioned in last week’s column.

Now that we are clear on what goals we want, why they are important for us, how to know if we are moving in the right direction towards our goals, how to measure them, and the timeline they have, it’s time for you to create a system that keeps the momentum going for an extended period until you achieve your desired results. I will share this system I learned from Mindvalley Coaching.

Using the HAAM  (Habits, Achievement & Reward, Accomplishments Motivation) system can be very useful in our planning.
Habits: These are pre-existing actions on which you want to build, or new ones that you can slowly incorporate into your routine. They must be easy to achieve, and you develop them over time.
Accountability: You need internal or external accountability to keep you on track toward your goals throughout the year.

Achievement and rewards: You should celebrate each milestone that moves you towards your goal and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Gamify your process! Incorporate gifts and rewards that you can give yourself along the way.

Motivation triggers: Find what motivates you to go forward and make space to incorporate those triggers.
We all have big, medium, and small goals and dreams. Our approach makes the difference. Myles Munroe said, “God will not give you a dream unless He knows you have the talents, abilities, and personality to complete it. His commands reveal the potential He gave you before you were born.”

I also love this quote by Ajit Nawalker

“The more clarity we get for our dreams, the easier it becomes to take action toward them. The more action we take toward our dreams, the more like those dreams will come through.”

Dreams are something you create in your mind that can take any shape or form, while goals are based on taking action. With goals, a lot of focus and attention are needed. On the other hand, dreams don’t need that kind of focus. You can sit for hours and dream without doing a single thing about it.

I have lots of big dreams and goals and can assure you that I AM READY to make them a reality! I am seeking God’s guidance as they manifest in a way to make a significant contribution to humanity. We continue to celebrate this beautiful journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.