But first…A Review of my 2017 Focus
A few years ago I started a new tradition on my blog of helping us focus our new year with one word or phrase (read more about it here and grab a free worksheet). My 2017 focus was inspired by a book I read called Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson. In the book Batterson challenged me to dream and pursue big dreams (more on it here).
In 2017 I prayed continuously to ask God what I should do with my blog because I knew that I either needed to let it slide back to the freedom of a hobby or invest more time and money into it, working towards doing it full time. A random webinar I came across inspired me to write down a list of all the money I would need to make this relaunch happen. I prayed over the list, specifically asking God to provide IF pursuing this dream was what He wanted me to do or that He would block it from happening if this wasn’t the path I should take.
I earned and raised more than the goal I had set!!! God provided and I finally felt a peace to make this decision of chasing this big dream.
Once the decision was made I worked hard on rebranding in such a way that it would have more room to grow no matter where my dreams would take me and so on September 1st, 2017 I relaunched on this new website: TheReelAnna.com! I also took a big step of courage by investing more money into this brand than I ever have before.
This reminder to “Chase the Lion” kept my focus on dreaming “God-sized” dreams and it reminded me to have the courage to chase them. All that has happened this year has led me to what I’ve now chosen for my 2018 focus…
My 2018 Focus
My friend, Maria Schlabaugh, is a talented hand-lettering artist and she designed this custom sign for me! Check out her Etsy store here. She sells beautiful prints as well as offers custom designs.
Trust, Hustle, Rest
The past few years it seems like God has brought just the right book to me at just the right time. Whenever I begin to wrestle with a certain question, the perfect book is published. It happened last year with the Chase the Lion book and again this year with the book, Called to Create by Jordan Raynor. This phrase, “trust, hustle, rest” was taken from a chapter in this newly released book.
To me it means a few things:
Do things in the RIGHT order.
The order of each word in this phrase is important. It’s not hustle first THEN trust, but trusting God should be my first priority. I want to make sure that in everything I do I am seeking God FIRST, rather than plunging in and then asking God to bless my work as an afterthought. I want to be reminded to go to God first and continuously trust in Him to guide my path. It’s easy for my high-achieving self to go right into the next task and work full speed ahead, but I don’t ever want to fall into relying on my own ideas and efforts; I want to make sure my focus is in the right place BEFORE (and during and after) I begin working on the next thing.
Putting in the work.
To grow an audience and a business it takes consistency of SHOWING UP and putting in the work. As a new blogger I know I’m particularly in this season of putting in the work without a lot of fruit yet because I’m just starting out. It takes time. I want to remind myself to not beat myself up when my blog posts get nothing but crickets because I know I’m just in a stage of having to consistently put in the work before I see results. Continuing to be faithful in my work will also help improve my writing and other skills, as well as grow my collection of helpful content and resources. So no matter what, my work is not in vain. I just have to keep on hustling.
I’m currently reading a book called Grit by Angela Duckworth and in it she shares the power of perseverance and how to develop this “grit.” She also talks about how those with grit can even surpass those with only talent because everything in life takes practice. You will only be as skilled as the effort that you put forth. I want to be a person of Grit. I want to play the long game and practice continuously with fervor so that I can constantly improve my skills. With my blog, as I mentioned, I know I just need to keep doing the work and I know I will see improvement. Something new I’m doing this year is an art challenge. I’ve wanted to better my art skills, so I decided that in 2018 I will draw something every single day because I know the sheer quantity of practice will make a huge difference in my art skills by the end of this year.
True trust = true rest.
I am a worrier! It’s something I’ve had to work on my entire life. Though I’ve grown in this area, it’s still a struggle. I worry about if my work is good enough. I worry about if I really am capable of helping anyone. I worry about if I’m wasting my time. I worry about if I’m making the right decisions for my blog and business. I sometimes work myself too hard. I sometimes have trouble sleeping at night. But Raynor points out in his book that if we’re truly trusting God, then we will feel at peace and be able to sleep and enjoy true rest. If I’m seeking God before taking action, acting out on what I believe He’s leading me to, and giving the very best of my gifts, time, and energy, then I can rest knowing that God is in control and will use my work for the good of the world. Give it my best and trust God with the rest.
If I truly believe that God can use the weakest to show His strength, the most broken to inspire hope, and the smallest of efforts and resources to change the world, then I can rest knowing that God can use my little life to help others. There’s no need to worry when the pressure is off of me and put onto God. So I shouldn’t stress out over doing everything perfectly or having “success” in the world’s eyes, but rather just seek God, give it my best, and rest knowing that God will use my efforts.
So that’s my focus for 2018! What’s yours? Comment below; I’d love to know!
Here are a few posts to read to help you if you’re still deciding on your focus and/or goals for this year:
- Why I Don’t Believe in New Year Resolutions
- 7 Tips to Help You Actually Reach Your Goals
- 3 (more!) Keys to Reaching Your Goals
- What Will Your Focus be in 2018?
- Here are some more examples of a word/phrase focus:
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