Having a large goal helps keep things in perspective.
Without a large goal to work toward, every small problem that comes our way can seem like a mountain. But when working toward something big, a small problem can be just a minor pebble.
This is why so many of us find that our hardest seasons aren’t always the busiest ones. They’re the aimless ones. The weeks where nothing is particularly wrong, per say, but nothing is pulling us forward either.
So what’s your big goal?
Not the to-do list. Not the budgets, investments, mortgage, or savings. I’m talking about the kind of goal that makes you a little nervous to say out loud. The kind that goal that gives you a unique kind of excitement to think about.
That goal is doing more work for us than we might realize. It’s always there in the background, quietly reordering our priorities. It’s making us more patient with setbacks, because setbacks are just part of any worthwhile journey.
When we don’t have that larger vision, we start optimizing for comfort instead of progress. We avoid hard conversations and skip the difficult work. We protect our peace at the cost of our potential.
The small problems can feel more personal because there’s nothing bigger to put them in context.
So write down that goal. The big one. Then, the next time something frustrates you or throws off your day, hold it up next to your goal. Ask yourself: In the grand scheme of what I’m building, how big is this problem really?
More often than not, we’ll find it’s a pebble. And pebbles? We just step over them and keep going.
The mountains we’re climbing are worth it. Let’s not let the pebbles convince us otherwise.
Warm regards,
Jimerson Adkins