The Game VS The Practice Round

There are many things that people desire. It may be a new job opportunity, marriage, house, cars, etc. Your current position is not your destination. Think about basketball players. (Shout out to the Warriors!) They spend their days practicing by conditioning practices, dribbling, shooting the ball, and different plays. They are preparing themselves for the upcoming game! Do you know what you are preparing for? That would be the first step in making sure you “win” at what you want. Pray and ask God for guidance if you don’t know what you desire. Proverbs 16:9 states, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. After you have clarity on your goals, start preparing! Do you think those basketball players practice for no reason? They have a goal of winning the basketball game! You cannot expect the win if you don’t practice! In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead-James 2:17

Productive ways to achieve your goals:

• First of all, sit at His feet!! No better way to be productive than to worship Him and be in His word!! This should be in your first priority in the morning.
• Plan out your day!
• Use a planner or your calendar app to plan out each hour of your day.
• Create a vision board
• This will help you identify your goals and keep your mind on them.
• Use a timer when doing tasks
• Tracks how long you are taking to do a task
• Get off social media and quit watching Netflix
• Yes, those are both enjoyable activities to do during your downtime. However, reward yourself with these activities AFTER you have spent time working on your goals.
• Be disciplined
• Learn to say no when you know you have something to get done. Also, say no to those things that tempt you.

Stay strong in this season of preparation! One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 12:1-2. It says, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a]Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”