About the Sport Principle<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Jordan, arguably the world\u2019s greatest ever basketball player, said: \u2018You will always miss 100% of the shots you don\u2019t take\u2019. If you don\u2019t have a target to aim at, you will always miss. The world\u2019s top athletes in all sports have their targets clearly written down for them on all kinds of documentation by their coaching staff. They have to. Often their funding depends on it. If you are going to be a world-beating podium performance athlete, you can\u2019t just drift through the season hoping for the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Application to Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You need a dream and a plan! Martin Luther King famously had a dream, but he also had a detailed plan about how to achieve it. It\u2019s no good having a head full of dreams about your future without a definite action plan about how to get yourself there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have always felt a little uncomfortable at work with the notion, often spoken about at appraisal time, of a 5-year plan. Over the years, I have often been asked what my 5-year plan is, and I\u2019m never quite sure how to answer, but until recently I\u2019ve never really known why. I don\u2019t really have a 5-year plan, I never have, and perhaps the reason is that as a Jesus-follower, I\u2019m much more interested in where I and my colleagues and those I care for will be in 5,000 years rather than 5 years. We have a Heavenly Father with an eternal plan for our lives. Keeping an eye on that eternal perspective can really help us stay focused on what counts in this life and this moment. We need to make every moment count in fulfilment of that eternal plan and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having said that, we need to avoid becoming living embodiments of that old adage: \u201ctoo heavenly minded to be of any earthly use.\u201d Perhaps we need to form a practical plan to fulfil our dreams from a heavenly perspective. Let\u2019s commit to cultivating one today. Your thoughts have a helpful habit of disentangling themselves when they pass from your head, down through your arm and out through your fingertips through a pen or a keyboard. You have not really got a plan until you write it down. People sometimes talk about SMART targets, with the word \u2018smart\u2019 acting as an acronym for \u2018specific\u2019, \u2018measurable\u2019, \u2018achievable\u2019, \u2018realistic\u2019 and \u2018time-related.\u2019 Perhaps thinking of these five ways of writing targets will be helpful to you? Spend a few moments now getting yourself a clear game plan to fulfil your dreams and God\u2019s purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor I know the plans\u00a0I have for you,\u201d declares the\u00a0Lord, \u201cplans to prosper\u00a0you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.\u201d<\/em> Jeremiah 29:11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Image credit: Markus Spiske via Unsplash<\/p>\n