Let’s talk about goals: Slow & Steady

We’ve all heard the saying “slow and steady wins the race” but how many of us believe this? Or this saying “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.” In our fast-paced culture, we like to set goals and tackle them right away. We want to set a goal, cross it off, and move on to the next. But let’s use a marathon as an example, just because you have it within you to sprint, doesn’t mean you should, because you know to cross the finish line, you’re going to need to run at a lower intensity to save your energy to finish your race.

When we set new year’s resolutions, our instinct is to want to sprint. But over time, we know what happens. We begin to lose motivation, and we end up quitting by March. We need the endurance to run this race. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, it says: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 

 

Running our race requires self-control and discipline. These are the fruits of the spirit that are needed in every area of our lives, and we can’t get it by sprinting, we get these fruits with proper training. If you’ve ever trained for a marathon, you know just how intense the process is. You start from the bottom, and you don’t get to the finish line overnight. There’s danger in pushing yourself too hard, too fast. It could cost you an injury, and keep you from running the race. 

 

If we want to win this year, we need to get focused and commit to running slow + steady.

 

According to a 2016 study, of the 41% of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions, by the end of the year, only 9% feel they are successful in keeping them.