A tip for actually achieving change …

Change does not happen by accident.

It’s not something that falls on you from the sky or someone else can accomplish for you. You can’t buy it, and God won’t force it on you.

Real change not only requires choice, but a true choice that comes complete with the willingness to do what it takes to achieve the desired change. That often means — cough, choke, gasp — actually having to consistently apply discipline and self-control to achieve the results you’re striving for.

If you’re willing to do that, then let me give you one tip that can be helpful in achieving change: schedule it.

That’s right, schedule the change you want to make in your life.

In the pursuit of change, your calendar can be a best friend, so long as you actually use it with diligence.

If becoming fit is a change goal, schedule workouts and other activities in your calendar that can help you accomplish your objective, then follow your schedule. If spiritual growth is a key change goal, schedule in your calendar those things that contribute to spiritual growth: specific time for personal Bible study, for prayer, for being involved with a small group, for serving in your church and community … schedule it!

If you want to deepen relationships, make time in your schedule for people. If you want to sharpen professional skills, plan time for reading, attending conferences, and other skill-building activities.

If you’re really serious about change, scheduling the action that it takes to actually accomplish change is a diligent step toward achieving change so long as you follow your schedule.

Let’s take this one step further: using your calendar, you can actually create a “life template” for yourself. This entails starting by defining all the essential things you want to accomplish every day, then putting those on your calendar for every day actions. For example, you may want “spiritual time” on a daily basis, which could include time for personal Bible study, prayer, worship and praise, and service. Likewise, you will want time with family and friends, and professional (work) time. I hope you want some time for exercise every day! Whatever are the key elements of your life that you want to experience on a daily basis, put them in your calendar every day.

You can do the same for change you want to achieve on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. What’s something you want to change in your life this month or this quarter? What’s a big item that you want to change within the next year? Put these things into action steps on your calendar.

By scheduling the change you want to bring about in your life on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, you have created a “life template” that includes all the things you want to change and have as your new reality … so long as you follow your schedule!

A common response to this tip is someone saying, “I don’t like being so regimented, I can’t do that.” Yes you can. The idea is not to build regimentation into your life, it’s about being serious enough about change to commit yourself and your time to take the action necessary to truly achieve change.

Again, change does not happen by accident, it takes making the choice, then taking the action. We often fail to take the action because we do not plan for and make time for it … so schedule it!

Scotty