What do you need to start?

This entry of mine seems to have started about a half-dozen times over the last couple of days. I had a few different topics floating around in the space above my neck, but none ever really seemed to grow beyond a sentence or two. Then I realized that maybe the starting point was the starting point for this post. Then things started to take form. First, a little bit of back-story about me…

For most of my life, I had issues with my weight. I tried various weight-loss methods and programs, but none seemed to really stick. In reality, the only things that stuck were the pounds. A few years ago, I had an eye-opening experience. My little girl and I were playing in the living room floor, and after just a few minutes, I was out of breath. It was in that moment I realized that something had to change, because I didn’t want to be that dad that was inactive in my kid’s life. I knew I was in trouble.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

I asked God for help and guidance. And you can, too.

In this journey, I followed two guiding principles: (1) I picked a starting point, and (2) I picked a starting point. Let me explain.

The first starting point I had to pick was a date. For me, that date was Wednesday, July 8, 2010. For so many people, myself included, we live with the “tomorrow” or “someday” mindset. “I will start that diet tomorrow.” “I will make that call tomorrow.” “I will talk to my neighbor about God someday.” I had to realize “someday” is not a day on the calendar, and neither is “tomorrow.” I had to be specific.

The second starting point I had to pick was a goal, followed by more goals. My dad has always told me to “set goals out of reach, not out of sight.” It would have been out of sight for me to expect or even think that I could wake up the morning of July 8th and run a marathon. So I started where I was with what I could do. There was a baseball field by my house at the time, so I set a goal to walk around that field for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. As that became routine and easier for me, I started to set new goals of running around that field: first a quarter-lap, then a half-lap, until finally I could run a full lap. My goals expanded over time. Over the course of a year, I lost more than 100 pounds. Last Thanksgiving, I ran a 5k for the first time. It felt great. But that never would have happened if I had not set a starting point on July 8, 2010, of walking around that baseball field.

Back to my original question: What do you need to start? What have you been putting off until “tomorrow” or “someday?” Has it been a physical goal? Has it been a spiritual one? Maybe it’s a goal of spending more quality time with your family. Maybe it’s increasing your prayer life. Whatever it is, why don’t you go ahead and pick your starting point on the calendar? What is your July 8th? Then, what is the first goal you can start working toward? Maybe that thing you wanted to obtain has not happened simply because your goals were out of sight. Start where you are with what you can do now. Then adjust your goals as you go along.

July 8, 2010 was a great day for me. But an even greater moment was waking up on July 8, 2011, living in a new reality shaped by the goals set and met during the 12 months prior.

How do you want to wake up one year from now? What do you want to have accomplished? What friendships or relationships do you want to be stronger? Who do you want to see when you look in the mirror?