Just go for it. Easy to say. Harder to do. When it comes to achieving your goals and accomplishing your dreams, sometimes you really do have to step out in faith and just go for it. However, from personal experience, I like to follow what I call the four “P’s” when I “go” for something. Here’s how to go for it in a way that’s wise and Biblical and likely to get you where you want to be.
Pray Before You Go for It
Every good plan starts with a prayer. Don’t know exactly what you’re going for when deciding to go for it? Pray and ask God for direction. Have something in mind? Pray and make sure it aligns with God’s will for your life. Feel like you have confirmation from God? Pray for His strength, peace, and guidance as you go for it. Pretty much, regardless of where you are in the process of stepping out in faith and achieving those big dreams you have, prayer should always be a part of it.
Praying makes the next step much easier because the Bible says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3). Now, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time to plan how you’re going to go for it, but it does mean when you commit your life and your dreams to God, He becomes actively involved in helping you achieve them. That is vital because, honestly, what’s the point of chasing your dreams if God’s not right there with you? So, pray, commit, and start planning.
Plan How You’ll Go for It
I’m a planner in nearly all aspects of my life, so it’s no surprise that I believe planning is an essential step in accomplishing whatever you want. They don’t say, “Fail to plan, plan to fail” for no reason. Goal setting and planning are vital. To successfully go for it, you need to know what you’re going for and how you will actively pursue it. Let me share a real-life example of how this has worked in my life.
Ever since my first “big girl job” (otherwise known as an office job after college), I realized I hated working in an office. I never felt challenged or got to do something I loved, enjoyed, or was good at throughout my various positions. So, since 2015, I knew I wanted to find a way to work from home doing what I love: writing. I had big dreams, but nothing came of them for nearly four years. Why? Because I didn’t have a plan. Sure, I had ideas. I knew freelance writing was an option, and I even dabbled in it for a few months. However, I didn’t actually come up with a way to get out of my current situation, so I stayed in it until I did.
Then, after many prayers, a bit of research, and a lot of desperation, I developed a semi-detailed plan to get writing clients and quit my job. I didn’t have everything figured out, but it was more than I had before and was just enough to get me moving in the right direction. And within five months, I had started my own writing business making enough money to quit my traditional job. It’s essential to have a plan when you decide to go for it. This way, you’ll get where you want to go a lot faster.
Pursue Going for It
The Bible says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9). At first glance, this sounds like your plan doesn’t really matter, right? Like you will come up with this great plan on how to go for it and achieve your dreams. But then God will come in behind you and change it up. Sure, it might mean that. But when I read this scripture, I hear something else. I hear that God will come alongside me as I pursue my plan. He’ll help it go in the right direction, even if that isn’t the direction I initially planned. And this leads me to the final step in going for it and accomplishing your dreams.
Pivot as You Go for It
If you read this step and instantly hear Ross from friends yelling “PIVOT” in your mind, then we can definitely be friends. (And if you don’t, we can still be friends that way, I can show you one of the funniest scenes in TV history.) Anyway, this step is essential because sometimes, things don’t go as planned when you go for it. Rather than taking that as a bad thing, prepare yourself ahead of time. You may need to pivot or change directions. Sometimes you start heading in one direction only to realize God has a different path for you. That’s ok! Sometimes you think you want to pursue one thing only to start and then realize it isn’t what you want. That’s okay, too!
If you’ve prayed and planned and committed your dreams and aspirations to the Lord, He is by your side. As you start to go for it and pursue those dreams, God will direct your steps in the right direction (which isn’t always the one you had planned). While it may feel uncomfortable or even frustrating at first, remember that God is always good, always right, and always loving. Therefore, if He has you pivot, it’s because His direction is also good and right and covered in love.
Want to read more blog posts like this one? You should check out How to Live with No Regrets (and still make rent)… I think you’ll really like it.
