Read time: approximately 2 minutes
Quick! When was the last time you said to a friend, “we need to get together”?
Now, when was the last time that you actually planned a date and time and made that get together a reality?
A few years ago, I met a good friend for lunch. We vowed to meet at least once a year to stay in touch. Fast forward a few years and still, no lunch.
Although we had great intentions, and we both wanted to stay in touch, life happened but our lunch never did.
And then, she texted me to say “happy birthday”.
I responded, “Thanks. We really still need to get together.”
To which she replied, “Yes, we do”.
Lately, I have been realizing I need a plan for moving beyond good intentions.
While we were still chatting, I suggested we chose a date, place and time and put it on the calendar, which we did.
No longer is lunch with my friend just another good intention, it is a date on my calendar.
The secret to moving beyond good intentions is one little word: WHEN
(it’s always the little things 😊 )
“When” is the word that puts legs on good intentions and marches them from mere thoughts into actions.
We should get together for lunch becomes; let’s get together for lunch this Friday.
I should clean out that silverware drawer is suddenly; I am going to clean out the silverware drawer on Saturday morning.
When someone decides to quit smoking, often, they are advised to pick a date. Picking a date and making a decision, regarding WHEN, makes that decision concrete.
It is so easy to let hours slip into days, days slip into years and years slip into decades.
We do ourselves a disservice when we allow that to happen without turning our good intentions into reality.
We stay stuck in jobs we don’t like, miss out on getting together with friends that we truly enjoy, miss opportunities to spend time with family.
Our silverware drawers stay dirty and turn into guilt inducers.
The days may be long but the years are definitely short. And every single day that passes without turning those good intentions into a reality is an opportunity lost.
Is there a good intention that has been floating around in your life for days or maybe even years?
It is time to move beyond that good intention.
Make the decision about WHEN it’s going to happen and enjoy the feeling of making that good intention a reality!
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This is excellent advice! If I don’t have something on my calendar, I won’t do it. But if it’s there, I plan for it and really try to stick to it!
I am finding that works best for me too. And now I have a clean silverware drawer! 🙂