Vision and Vulnerability

Where there is no vision, the people perish:  but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.  Proverbs 29:18

Declare your vision.  Set goals.  Go out and achieve them.  Easy to say, but so hard to do.  Why?  Because there is such a vulnerability in setting a goal and declaring it to the world.  What if you fail?  What will people say?  What will people think?  It's so much easier to say, I'm happy this way.  I'm ok with my current situation.  As far as my weight is concerned, I'm content to describe myself as a plus-sized model, projecting a self-confidence that is necessary for me to make my way happily through each day. I already lost a significant amount of weight once, and then allowed "life" to happen, and gained it all back.  Only to have an acquaintance come up to me and say "What happened to you?!".  

The fact is that when a vision is declared and goals are stated publicly immediately you are opened up to the risk of being attacked with negativity from people who don't think you can.  More importantly you open yourself up to criticism from yourself.   If you allow this to deter you from shouting your goal from the rooftops, you rob yourself of the opportunity to struggle and strive and paint a clear picture of what it takes to be successful.  You rob yourself of the chance to show someone else the way.  

Everyone knows that progress in any area (fitness, faith, career) takes work, a million good decisions to get to where you need to be.  Losing weight and being healthy is not rocket science.  A million different programs and apps all teach us to do the same things: 

1. Eat well and keep track of what you eat
2. Exercise
3. Drink Water
4. Find motivation/inspiration daily
5. Have an accountability partner
6. Be honest about where you currently are and appreciate yourself for it.
7. Measure your progress
8. Expect setbacks, don't beat yourself up about them, but don't let them derail your progress.

Do not let fear stop you from doing what you know in your spirit you need to do to grow and be better and do better.   Declare your vision and keep on declaring it boldly.  A vision cannot live safely in the recesses of your mind protected from the harsh criticism of the world.  It needs to be declared so that it can become reality.  It needs to be shared so that you can hold yourself accountable to your vision and take action to manifest it.  You need to risk the failure so that you can achieve the success.