As the new year begins next month, I want you to embrace the word, Courage.  Courage is needed to achieve anything in life.  Courage is not something that everyone is born with.  Courage is developed over time and is a result of taking the first step towards working to achieve whatever your goals and dreams are.  Having the courage to do or say something you want to say or do, but are afraid to, is like having faith that no matter what the outcome will be, you will be okay.  Having courage is being able to say, at least I am not afraid to try.  As the saying goes, Nothing beats a failure, but a try.  If you do not try, you have already failed.  Courage is having the will power to step out on faith and see what will happen as a result, whether it is good or bad and still know that no matter what, you will be okay.  It is okay to have the courage to take safe risk, however, you have to first weigh the pros and cons.  Ask yourself what do you have to lose and then, ask yourself what do you have to gain?  If you answer honestly, and you have more gains than losses, and it is a safe risk, develop the courage to go for it.  To develop courage, you have to be willing to take the first step, even if you don’t see the first step.  If you live fearful, your fears will tell you that there are no steps to stand on and that you will fail or be hurt in the process, however, you have to have faith that the steps are there and just take that first step.  You just might be glad that you did.  You will never know what the outcome will be if you do not take the first step.  The only way that people will know if something will work out is because they took the first step.   When you brought your first car, you took the first step. When you had your first kiss, you took the first step.  When you started your first job, you took the first step.  When you had your first child, you took the first step.  When you were involved in your first relationship, you took the first step.  When you started a new school, you took the first step.  When you moved to a new City, you took the first step.  When you bought that new house, you took the first step.  When you decided to get married, you took the first step.  When you decided to leave that bad relationship, you took the first step.  When you started your own business, you took the first step.  When you wrote your first book, you took the first step.  Taking the first step can be scary, but if you look back over your life and your first steps, you will see that your test, became your testimony. 

Through life’s trials and tribulations we develop courage to decide again, to dream again, to live again.  You learn a lot from the trials, tribulations and triumphs along the way and can help someone else through their journey of taking their first step.  The unknown can be scary, but we shouldn’t leave this world with hopes and dreams that we never pursue.  You have to be secure within yourself to be able to be comfortable with taking the first step.  Even if you do not get the outcome that you predicted the first time that you wanted, you have to be confident in knowing that nothing changes the value of who you are and what you are capable of doing and achieving.  Having courage means that you have to be comfortable with losing at times, winning at times, having good days and bad days, as well as making progress one day, and being stagnant another, having setbacks, and disappointments, as well as successes.  Courage is knowing that no matter what the outcome is, you will still be okay and having the confidence in knowing that nothing and no one can take that confidence from you.   If you don’t get the second interview for the job that you want, have the courage to call to check on the status of your application and if you’re told that they decided to hire a different candidate, know that God must have a better position in store for you.  Courage separates itself from ego and pride.  Sometimes, ego and pride can prevent us from taking the first step to do what our heart and mind tells us to do.  Courage is pushing beyond ego and pride, as well as pushing pass what others might say about our goals and dreams.  When we realize that this life is ours to live and no one can live our lives for us, we get to the point where other people’s opinions about our goals and dreams are not important.  What matters is our own opinion of ourselves and what we truly want in life.   The question is, what are you going to do about achieving Your goals?  Start with being focused, disciplined, and courageous.

Today, I challenge you to think about that something or someone that you want in life and take a step to work towards connecting with that thing/things and/or that someone.  Again, even if the result is not the outcome that you want, at least you don’t have to live with the, what ifs, should of, would of, could of syndrome and you can move onward to achieving your next goal.  No matter what, never stop setting goals, never stop dreaming, and never stop believing that you can achieve your life goals, through hard work, focus, courage, dedication, discipline,  determination, and perseverance.  I challenge you to create a to-do list for 2020 and list at least five things that you want to successfully accomplish next year.  Know that it will take courage to achieve what you put on your list.  Don’t be afraid to take safe risk.  When you write your five goals for 2020, as 2020 VISION, next to each goal on your to-do list, write down the pros of achieving such goal, and the cons and obstacles that could hinder your success of reaching that goal.  Then, come up with how you can combat those obstacles, so that you can achieve your goals successfully.  For example, if your goal is to stop renting and buy a house, an obstacle could be that you are not good at saving money.  To combat that obstacle, you can set up a new savings account in a bank that is not easily accessible and do not get an ATM card for that bank and set up automatic withdrawals from your paycheck to your bank every time you get paid, allocating an amount that you can afford to put towards saving for your house.  Also, doing research on first time home buying programs that will give sellers assist with down payments and/or grants would help to combat that obstacle.  Then, three months into the new year (March), reevaluate your list to see how well you are working towards achieving your goals.  Life happens, so expect that you may or may not make progress initially, but do not give up on your goals.  No one else can achieve them for you, so you have to depend on YOU.  If there are distractions in the way of achieving your goals, you will have to figure out how to refocus on doing the things that most matter to You (not anyone else).   Stay focused.  If you get off track, work towards getting back on track.  Again, no one can reach Your goals for you, You have to be courageous enough to reach them for yourself.

After the three month evaluation period, do another evaluation again in mid-year (June) to analyze your progress, by now you should have at least accomplished one or two of the goals on your list or be close to achieving them, depending upon how hard it is for you to accomplish them.  Remember, it is extremely important to set realistic expectations of goal setting to make sure that you are not setting yourself up for failure; your goals should be attainable goals.  Courage is also about being optimistic, yet realistic.   By the end of the year, if you have achieved all of the five goals on your list, Congratulations in advance that you had the courage, wisdom, diligence, and focus necessary to achieve your goals.  Move forward in courage and be inspired that God has great things in store for you, you just have to be willing to work towards accomplishing them. 

 

You cannot continue to live in fear and doubt, it is your time now to live by faith, to live being courageous, to do the things that make you most happiest, without worrying about whether or not other people will approve, or worrying about if the outcome doesn’t turn out the way that you want it to.   Have the courage to try it anyway, knowing that you will be just fine no matter what. Remember, the risk should be a safe one.  Safe risks does Not mean that you are courageous enough to jump off of a bridge and think that you will not die or be injured in some way.  Safe risk is asking a lady/man out on a date, even though you are afraid of rejection.  Please know that the focus here is not to do things that will get you in trouble, imprisoned, or killed.  The goal is for you to have the courage to finally start taking safe risk, so that you can finally start living out Gods plan for your life.   A plan without action is just an idea that you made up in your mind, for no good reason, when you do nothing to execute the plan.   So be courageous.  Get up! Move….Do something to work towards achieving your goals daily.  Have Courage.  What do you have to lose?  At the end of the day, You will still be you, no matter what.  You will be okay.  2020 is your year, but only if You make it so!  Do you have the courage to do what you really want to do?  Try it and share with us your testimony @ LoveExquisiteMag@gmail.com.

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By Lynnette Clement