Unstick

If a woman can change her mind, she can change her life. ~ Jennifer Allwood

Alright, friend, we’ve made it to the point where it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and unstick. This will require you to step beyond the planning stage and actually get to doing.

Do what you’re scared to do. Do what needs to be done. That is the real secret to unsticking. Doing is what will propel you out of stuck and into something far better. Friends, it is time.

Right here I want you to write down everything you can think of that you need to do to get unstuck.

• Dreaming is great, but the doing is what matters.

Do you have anything on your list that includes journaling, reflecting, brainstorming, or setting intentions? If so, cross those things off. There is a time and place for those things, but that time and place was the last three sections. Now it’s time to start.

Plenty of women have died with a journal full of goals and intentions and dreams, with none of them realized on this side of Heaven. You cannot continue to pray and pray and pray, asking God to make a way when you refuse to take a step. You cannot ask God to show you what He wants you to do if you’ve been ignoring what He’s been whispering in your ear for years. You can’t expect God to give you the full picture when you won’t even do the next thing He’s asking you to do.

What will you commit to doing today?

I know it’s scary to start. What if you do the wrong thing?

I promise that even if the first step you take is a disaster of a wrong choice, it will be okay. At least you’re starting.

• God is fully capable of fixing any and every mistake.

As long as you are in motion, He can reroute you, pull you back, bypass a misstep, and switch your direction. But even God cannot steer a parked car.

Yes, it may be clumsy. Yes, it may not be the best work you ever do. Yes, you may look like a newbie. But you will be doing it and that is what matters.

The kind of life you long for doesn’t come by playing small. It comes from getting in the game. It comes from deciding to do something today that will take you one step closer — and then having the courage to keep going.

And that, my friend, is a life worth living.

Don’t let the start stop you.

The Next Best Step

Repeat after me: I do not have to do it all today.

Say that as many times as you need to in order to let that truth sink down into your bones. Even God did not create everything in one day. He did it over six days, and He is infinitely more powerful than you and me. Which means that no matter how hard you try, you cannot create the life you want right this minute.

We often stop ourselves at the beginning because we’re not sure where we will end up or how long it will take us to get there, and that can feel frustrating and overwhelming. We live in a world that prioritizes instant gratification. We all want what we want when we want it (which is usually yesterday!), so it makes perfect sense that starting something big and uncertain freaks us out a little. But honestly, sometimes ignorance is bliss.

I believe with my whole heart that it’s because of God’s goodness that He doesn’t show us the whole picture or give us the whole plan in advance. I bet it would intimidate the heck out of us.

If God hasn’t given you the whole picture yet, count your blessings. We can’t handle the whole picture. It’s better to see only the next step and not absolutely everything that’s coming our way. This allows us room to grow and evolve without the pressure of an end result or an end date. Don’t stress that you don’t know where you’re headed. You know the One setting your course and you can trust His navigation system.

So stop looking ahead. You don’t have to know what’s a mile or five or ten down the road. All you have to do is take that first step. And then take the next obedient step after that. And then the next. Don’t stop. Don’t second-guess yourself. Just keep stepping and trusting God to direct those steps to where they need to go. Eventually, if you keep right on taking the next best step, you will find yourself five or ten miles down the road and be truly amazed at how far you’ve come.

I know taking those first few steps can be daunting. But it’s not as difficult as we make it out to be.

• Most of the time, we just need twenty seconds of dig-down-deep courage.

It takes only twenty seconds to dial that number or send that email or press submit on that application. Twenty seconds is nothing, my friend. It takes me longer to put on my mascara every morning. Even if you are sweating through your shirt and shaking in your sneakers, you can be brave for twenty seconds to take that step.

• What step can you take today with twenty seconds of insane courage? Can you do it right now?

What about tomorrow? The next day? Next week? Write down one courageous thing to do every day for this week and next. Then do them.

How did it feel to take that step?

Did all your worst fears come true?

What actually happened?

You’ve got the courage inside you to start. Once you do, God will come alongside you to bring you exactly to where He wants you to be. He will make a way, even in the wilderness, when you get on board with what He wants. Remember, friend, if you said yes to God, you said yes to His plan. But you will never know what that looks like until you take the first step.

Excerpted with permission from Get Unstuck and Stay Unstuck by Jennifer Allwood, copyright Jennifer Allwood.

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Your Turn

Do what you are scared to do! Ask the Lord for help and take one small, brave step forward today toward the dream or dreams God has given you. You can do it! What is it for you? Come share with us! We want to hear from you! ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full