We all have personal and professional goals which change and evolve over time. Our goals can be mundane, such as exercising more each week. Or they can be substantive, such as deciding to change careers and go back to school. Whatever your goal, you can find encouragement by following these 3 P’s.

1. Patience. I recently forwarded a funny quote on social media which says: “Bless me with patience. Not opportunities to be patient, I’ve had plenty of those and they don’t seem to be working. The actual patience…” It’s true that when we are trying to practice patience that life somehow seems to throw us these curve balls that try our patience to the end of its limits! I know. I’ve sure been there. But the beauty of really stepping into a posture of patience is that in the practice of it, we do get better. It is a lot of hard work but if you practice diligently you will find that the little things that used to irk you don’t bother you as much. With any goal a measure of patience is required. There will be obstacles and challenges that test our ability to stay focused on our goal but if we “patiently” work to overcome these challenges, we will reap our reward in the end.

2. Perseverance. How do we endure when the going gets rough? How do we maintain our vision when there are myriad distractions in our path? How do we keep on track with our goal? We persevere. We stay the course. We ride the wave of uncertainty and trial until we can coast to the shore. We remind ourselves of why the goal is important to us. We envision how great we will feel when we accomplish our goal. We taste victory, buckle down and plow forward. It is said that our true character reveals itself when we are challenged. Persevering, in essence, strengthens us so that the person we become on the other side is smarter, tougher, wiser, and more compassionate than our former self. Perseverance helps us achieve our goals and gives us the gift of character development.

3. Prayer. Faith gives us the power to move mountains! A belief in yourself and in a Higher Power, such as God, enables you to withstand disappointment, perceived failure, and trials. It gives you the security that, yes, you can achieve your dreams. It gives you an inner knowing that, yes, you can accomplish your goals, no matter how dire the circumstances may seem. The act of prayer acknowledges that your means far extend what you can see with your naked eye. You have help, support, and an advocate. Prayer gives you the ability to re-focus, re-group and re-align with your mission. It forces you to press pause and listen for guidance. When you receive it, you can patiently persevere towards your desired destination.

Patience, perseverance, and prayer are your guideposts for successfully achieving any goal. Yours in victory!