“She thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Mark 5:28 NIV

Every now and then, I will see a post on Facebook that says “wait for it.” The punch line or the funny part is coming, but there is a prelude you must first endure.

So wait for it.

If you are patient, you will get to the good part. And you will be grateful. Whether you chuckle or roll on the floor laughing, you will be gratified. It will be worth the wait.

But is waiting for it the right approach when you are goal-oriented and striving for success?

Maybe, just like me, you have been taught that good things come to those who wait. This is true. It is also a limiting belief.

You can derive from this creed that waiting is a passive state of existence. You may conclude that if you stay still, remain right where you are and do nothing but wait, good things will come right to you.

Or you may think that waiting is the only way you will experience good things. Your options and possibilities are few. You are constrained and restricted in your thinking. You need new thoughts.

Do you wait for your dreams to come true?

I remember hearing the story of a man stranded on rooftop during a flood. He had three opportunities to evacuate his home. He refused them all … waiting for a divine miracle.
So he drowned to death and went to heaven.

He demanded to see God. He wanted solace. He needed to know why God did not answer his prayer. After all, He waited on the Lord. He waited to be rescued. He waited for it to happen.

God said to him “I sent a car, a rowboat and a helicopter. What more were you waiting for?” The man was waiting all right. Yet he neglected to reach for the blessing that was right before him.

There is something to learn from the woman who reached out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment (Mark 5:24-34). She had been bleeding for years and sought medical relief. The doctors could not heal her. She waited to be cure.

Yet she persisted. She heard about Jesus and his healing miracles. He was nearby. This was her opportunity. The wait was over. Now it was time to reach for it.

In reaching for healing, her blessing, she teaches the following about accomplishing your goals:

1. Try something new. Old habits and old methods lead to the same old results. To have a breakthrough, you must develop new habits and new methods.
2. Recognize your opportunities. It is important to discern and weigh your various opportunities. Identify the ones which will keep you moving forward versus those that will set you back.
3. Take risks. Step outside of your comfort zone. Stretch yourself to do what the very thing that makes you feel afraid, doubtful or uncertain. Bet on yourself for the win.
4. Defy conventions. Break the rules and challenge the status quo. Some rules, concepts or beliefs only block our potential and limit our results. To get ahead, you will need to break some norms.

What is something you can do today to reach for your goal? Please share your thoughts in the comments section, I’d love to hear from you.

  Evelyn Summerville
I write about living and leading with excellence