December 31 - New Year’s Flight Plan

New Year’s Flight Plan

“The very steps we take come from God; otherwise how would we know where we’re going?”  Proverbs 20:24

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to take a job in Los Angeles at a company called Heli-tac.  It was one of those “two-week college short term jobs” where I was asked to ride shotgun in a helicopter that flew to bank pickups at airports across Southern California.  It was a pretty sweet gig actually.  There are few things that compare to flying off the top of a 70-story skyscraper only to look down and see the hot-wheel sized cars and roads below.

However, as fascinated as I was by the ins and outs of helicopter flight, I discovered an important air traffic rule.  That is, if you want to fly higher than 1,000 feet, you are required by FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) standards to file a flight plan.

Now a flight plan is a critical part of travel for the very fact that it details where you are going, when you expect to arrive and when you plan to return.  The exceptions to the rule are “Ultra Lite” crafts and certain helicopters which only plan to travel low.

Following the September 11^th plane and tower tragedies in 2001, we have become more familiar with these regulations as airline flights require each pilot to follow a course and a time frame with which he intends to abide.  Along the way, satellites and towers follow the movement of the plane to assure they properly reach their destination.

As we begin a new year at midnight tonight, you will discover that those who plan to fly low generally avert a tangible plan of action.  Going by sight is enough for them with little need of high altitude.  However, those who desire to fly high will tend to put together a “flight plan” to keep their goals clear.

Peter Druecker, famous for his vision of leadership, writes in People and Performance, “Objectives are not fate; they are direction.  They are not commands, they are commitments.  They do not determine the future; they are a means to mobilize…resources and energies.”

Along with Druecker, Mark Eppler gives an acronym to help the person that is interested in reaching a S.U,M,M,I,T, performance in the year ahead:

S- Specific:  Your target needs to be clearly defined.  Most goals are compromised because they are not objective.  Increasing “a lot” is not being specific.

U- Useful:  Does the goal have meaning to you personally?  Any private or business goal that fails to demonstrate personal benefit will not have a high level of commitment.  Something positive should result from the goal.

M- Manageable:  Is the goal doable?  Certain goals are obstructed through physical or other limitations.  We need to assess the goal to see if we are capable.

M- Meaningful:  Does it bother you if you don’t reach it?  If the answer is no, then the likelihood of it happening is slim.  Only set goals that will matter to you.

I- Integrated:  Goals need to fit into the overall plan of what you are trying to do.

T- Tangible:  Is your goal recorded in writing?  Unwritten goals are only resolutions and we know what happens to those.

In the book of Nehemiah, the great leader established some written goals that ultimately allowed him to reach new heights for Israel as the broken walls were rebuilt and the lost dreams restored.  As we begin 2015, let’s ask the Lord for His ultimate flight plan for us.  Chances are…it’s higher than 1,000 feet.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)   Can you think of a S.U.M.M.I.T. goal in your life that you would like to see fulfilled in 2015?

2)   Pray and ask the Lord to give you a starting point

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

December 31 - God, Goals and You

God, Goals and You

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

As we move toward a new year, one of the greatest habits you can develop in life is the ability to set goals.  But the truth is, most people have a love/hate relationship with goal-setting.  We have mixed feelings. 

On the one hand, we know they are necessary to experience any sustained success in life.  We love the concept of setting our minds on something whether that is an end zone in football or a sales target in your business.  We know that it is a good thing.  We know that it is necessary in one way or another.  Most of the things we’ve learned about goals are positive.  They cause us to rise to new levels.  They give us direction.                                 

                    

On the other hand, our concept of goal-setting often leaves us feeling like a failure.  After all, how many of us have set a goal and given up on it? We start out the year saying, “By the end of the year, I want to do this or that.” We allow them to be fleeting feelings.  However,  we don’t develop a permanent plan.  As a result we end up thinking, goals aren’t worth it because after all they never work.  We usually are half-hearted with our goal-setting. 

                   

Rather than goals, we have something else.  We have desires.  We have wants.  We have wishes.  We have interests. And yes, we have intentions.  But as someone even said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” It’s kind of a drastic statement, but there is an element of truth.  We don’t end up where we want to end up.  We don’t accomplish what we want to accomplish.  We don’t develop a concrete plan for our future.  Rather than hitting the mark, we limp through life and never reach all that we could have.  Goals are different than desires, wants, wishes and intentions. 

              

Years ago, Mike McCormick did a study of Harvard Grads in the MBA Program who were furthering their education.  For the most part, all of them were very successful people to have achieved what they did so early in life.  He asked them a simple question, “How many of you have written down goals in your life?” They had an interesting response that was as follows:

-3% had goals and plans

-13% had goals but no plans

-84% had no goals and no plans

                              

Years later, they evaluated their lives and came to a revealing discovery. 

-The 13% (who had goals but no plans) on average were making 2x’s the amount than the 84% (who had no goals and no plans).

-The 3% (who had goals and plans) on average were making 10x’s more than the 13% group (who had goals but no plans).

                     

While surveys of this nature tend to be finance-oriented, there is an important principle that is revealed.  Goals and plans will take us “exponentially” further than not having them.  Brian Tracy said, “If I could give you one thing in 5 minutes that will change your life more than anything else it is this:

1.   Write down goals

2.   Make a plan             

3.   Work on your plans each day.”

 

God wants to help us do that.  In his book, Dream Giver, Bruce Wilkinson says that God is a giver of dreams.  He is desirous to bring new dreams into our hearts.  Faith always begins with a picture, a mental image, a dream, a vision an idea.  You see it again and again in the Bible.  God planted a dream in Abraham’s heart (That’s going to be my family).  He planted a dream in Moses heart (I will take the Israelites into the Promised Land).  He put a dream in Joseph’s heart (I am going to make you a leader of men).  He put a dream in David’s heart (I am going to help you build a temple).  He put a dream in Mary’s heart (I will give you the most special baby).  He put a dream in Paul’s heart (Go to Rome to preach the gospel).

God says "Here's something you can visualize."  God starts by stretching our imagination, by giving us a dream, a vision.  What you can dream and believe, you can achieve. Faith starts with stretching the imagination.  As you begin the New Year, let God pour His dreams into you.  “I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:11a)   Who knows what He will do through you in 2015.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)   How do you feel about New Year’s goals and resolutions?

2)   What do you most desire He will do through you in the upcoming year?

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser

December 29 - Cross Training

Cross Training

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”  (2 Timothy 3:16)

It you are like most people, it probably makes sense that some kind of exercise is an important part of a healthy life.  As we move toward the New Year, we find this as a resolution for many.  But like most people, you probably find that fitting it into your schedule is sometimes a challenge.  At times, our reasons are fairly legitimate but more of often then not, they are as sour as expired milk.  Just like anything else in life, you have to find a way to pay now or you are going to have to pay later.

Steven Head, health educator with Sports Therapy Services in McLean, Virginia, doesn’t buy the “too busy” theory though.  He says, “We seem to find time for things that are important to us, no matter how busy we are.”  Ain’t it the truth?

Surveys reveal five common excuses for not beginning an exercise program:

1)  Intimidation:  Peg Jordan, spokesperson for the Aerobics and Fitness Association in Sherman Oaks evaluated the statistics of 1880 people about fitness motivation and found that more than 80% saw exercise as “too scientific, too complicated…so that beginners risked exposing their incompetence and ineptitude.”

2)   Impatience:  Susan Kalish, executive director of the American Medical Athletic Association in Bethesda, Maryland argues that “People want a quick fix.  Even though it took them 30 years to get out of shape, when they don’t get fit overnight, they blame their genes.”

3)   Unrealistic Expectations:  “People who exercise in search of the perfect body are doomed to failure,” says Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale University Center for Eating and Weight Disorders.  “But if they are looking to become healthier, more energetic…then exercise can deliver.”

4)   Denial:  “Many people are in denial that health problems could happen to them,” says Carol Kleinman, a therapist in Maryland.  “Then when they have a heart attack or physical problem, all of a sudden they have the motivation to reorder their priorities to exercise.”

5)   Irrelevance:  Pam Peeke, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland said that people falsely believe, “With today’s technology, it’s no longer necessary to move to exist.  Exercise doesn’t add to people’s income, and many people consider it another chore to add to a time-starved life.”

Peeke adds that physical movement is essential to healthy, especially in handling stress as he book, Fight Fat at Forty, contends that sedentary living turns our natural “fight or flight” response into an obesity-promoting “stew and chew.”

May I suggest that there is another kind of exercise that we know is important to a healthy spiritual life, and like others, we at times neglect to fit in into our schedules.  We even tend to use all the time-worn excuses from intimidation to irrelevance.  Of course I’m referring to God’s Word.  Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man (and woman) of God may be thoroughly  equipped for every good work.”  Gives a new meaning to the idea of “working out” you salvation, doesn’t it?

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)   Has God’s Word been part of your steady diet?

2)   How can you get on a New Year’s plan starting in the new year?

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser