What is the ONE thing you want more than anything else? Are you willing to work for it AND wait for it? We live in a world of instant gratification. We want to lose weight…now. We want to be debt free…today. We want to be happy…forever.  We want joy, peace, love, passion and more. But the reality is that in order to achieve any of these things, we need to practice them, have patience to wait for them, and be willing to persevere.

This week, our daughter celebrated her 11th birthday and was given the thumbs up by her ballet instructor that she was ready for pointe shoes. Pointe shoes are the most eagerly anticipated rite of passage for a young dancer. When a dancer wears her pointe shoes, she can proudly declare, “I AM a ballerina!” To earn this rite of passage, it took Arianna 8-years of dedication, hard work and discipline. Her love for ballet motivated her to achieve this accomplishment. After trying on more than 15 pairs of pointe shoes, Arianna found her perfect pair, and when she did, she smiled from ear to ear while tears swelled up in my eyes…

How can you put a plan into action to achieve the ONE thing that you want more than anything else?

Practice

Practice helps you prepare for when it matters most. In this interview, Michael Jordan says it best, “I never feared my skills, because I put in the work." If you want to lose weight, practice eating less and exercising more. If you want to be debt free, practice spending less. If you want to be happy, practice comparing less, judging less and practice forgiving more.

Patience

Patience, like most things in life, is a learned behavior. It is not something we inherit or are entitled to. It is a daily commitment to take a deep breath, and embrace our surroundings…good or bad. In Romans 12:12 we are reminded, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” If you want to lose 10 pounds, be patient when you lose your first pound! If you want to be debt free, be patient when your credit card balance decreases. If you want to be happy, be patient when things don't go your way.

Perseverance

Perseverance is steadfastness to get back up when we’ve been knocked down. Many people believe that we can only get better at things when we fail and learn from our failures. What do Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, and Oprah Winfrey have in common? They all failed and were all told they weren’t good enough, but through their perseverance, they were able to achieve great things.

If we want to lose weight, we should eat healthy and exercise. If we want to be debt free, we should wait 3-days before we make our next purchase. If we want to be happy, we should take the time to find what makes us truly happy.

Arianna achieved what mattered most to her…pointe shoes! How did she do it? Through practice, patience and perseverance. As you go into 2017, ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve?” We have an expression in our home, “Believe…and you WILL achieve!” I have the upmost confidence in your ability to achieve the one thing that matters most to you…do you?

Be+positive, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Niccole