A few months ago, I pulled out my goals from 2015, and smiled because frankly, I’ve come a long way baby.
Goal 1: Pay off Car (Done. And passed it on to my college daughter.)
Goal 2: Get New Carpet (Done. And sold that house.)
Goal 3: Start Dating (Done. And married the absolute best man ever.)
Goal 4: Get ACC Coaching Credential (Done. And just received my PCC.)
Goal 5: Write a Book (Done. And published it in January.)
Goal 6: Wake up at 5am (Done. And moved the alarm to 4am. I now go to bed the same time your grandmother does.)
God has brought about so many good things in my life!
But I was totally bummed that the two top goals on my career page still have not happened, and it’s been almost 5 years. I haven’t made it to the national speaking circuit and I haven’t reached my income goals. Year after year these dreams have been transferred to next year’s list.
These are my BHAGS, my Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
Do you have goals like these?
I am moving from former stay-at-home mom with a faith-based speaking hobby to keynote speaker and life coach with multiple streams of income and sole provider of the family.
And it’s not that I haven’t made any progress. I mean, heck, I speak quite a bit and in Wyoming and Nebraska, but I am dreaming about something more urban, in states whose borders don’t actually touch Colorado. And income, while growing, isn’t quite where I need it to be to pay for four weddings and retirement.
The truth is that I’ve made baby steps with these goals, safe and sequential steps, but I sense that God has more.
Something bigger.
Something hairier.
Something promised.
THE PROMISED LAND
“See the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it” (Deuteronomy 1:21). That is what Moses said to the Israelites, and the verse that keeps ringing in my mind as I think about my BHAGs.
God has given you this opportunity.
Go and take possession of it.
No more baby steps.
It’s time to jump.
This is what you call a big leap. A big leap of faith.
THE BIG LEAP
The big leap for me has started with the way I think.
In his book aptly titled, The Big Leap, psychologist and coach Gay Hendricks describes a problem, Upper Limit Thinking, that he says keeps us from our promised lands. Upper limit thinking is the ceiling we put on our success, happiness, and joy. Each of us, he says, has a limit to how much goodness and blessing we allow ourselves. While not as damaging as the limiting beliefs we discussed in The Lies that we Believe and How to Overcome Negativity and Lies, our upper limit thinking problem will keep us from our God-given potential and all that He wants to do in and through us.
I hear upper limit thinking all the time:
I want to start a non-profit. It’s always been my dream. I don’t need to make a million dollars or anything. I just want to help others.
I want to have a good marriage. I don’t need love and romance 24/7 or anything like that. Just a relationship with respect and kindness.
I want to a better job. I want a nice vacation. I want to coast. I want to stay in my comfort zone. No one actually says the last two, they just think them all the time.
These statements might sound humble and content, which is a good thing, but what if they speak to an upper limit problem, which is a bad thing? I mean, why not make a million dollars? You could use it to fund ministries and nonprofits all over the world. Why not experience love all day long? You could get so filled up that love would overflow to others. Why not go for the best job in the world or the trip of a lifetime?
The idea that God wants us to enter the Promised Land, the realization of His highest goodness, is just hard for us to accept.
JOSHUA’S PROBLEM WITH THE LEAP
Forty years after Moses told the Israelites to go up and take possession of the land, Joshua did. He had the green light from God so he led the Israelites across the Jordan river into the Promised Land and took possession of Jericho. Victory!
And this is where we need to pay attention because having experienced more goodness than they had ever known, the Israelites lost the next battle. Instead of asking God what in the world happened, Joshua blamed their loss on wanting more. He had hit his Upper Limit (Joshua 7:7).
“If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!”
Umm Joshua, I think God told you to cross the Jordan (3:7)? That was His plan for you. To be content to stay on the other side of the Jordan would have been disobedience. The problem wasn’t that you got greedy Joshua, the reason for your defeat was that one of your men stole some of the devoted things that God told you not to take.
The upper limit problem that Joshua faced is the same one we face today:
Our thermostat for goodness is simply set too low.
MY BIG LEAP
Do you think there is more to you than you know?
That is the first question on my current survey card. Of the 348 responses, 92% of them said yes, they believe there is more to them than they know. Such a wonderfully hopeful response.
I feel the same way.
That’s why I am currently moving beyond my upper limit thinking by taking leaps with God into my promised land because I want to see what more He has for me. I want to know what more I am capable of. I want to realize ALL my potential and accomplish these BHAGs in 2020.
Is there more for me to contribute? I’ll find out by pursuing new speaking inquiries every single day.
Is there a bigger influence that I can have? I’ll find out by pushing through the same fear the Israelites experienced when they got a glimpse of the Promised Land. “The people are stronger and taller than we are” they said, “the cities are large, with walls up to the sky.” Come on now, have you seen the size of our God???
Is there greater service for me to offer? I’ll find out by creating more products (be on the look out for our new online course coming in January) and group coaching programs and charging what I’m worth.
YOUR BIG LEAP
I truly believe that God has immeasurably more for us all “than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). I believe that we “will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). Just look at my 2015 goals. Great things have happened and more is on the way.
How about you?
Are you willing to push past your upper limit thinking and take possession of whatever God is calling you to?
I sure hope so. It’s more fun to leap together.
If you’re feeling brave, leave a comment and inspire us all with the leap you are going to make in 2020.
