A Practical Guide for Planning Designed for Catholic Men: Watch Our for These Pitfalls
I'm adding the following thoughts to our planning for next year. These are some major pitfalls I hope you avoid.
First, of course, is the whole procrastination thing. Don't worry, we all do it. But it's really awful if you put serious thought into planning your business and your life and then don't actually follow your plan. So make your mind up, better still pray that you don't procrastinate.
While procrastination can be caused by fear - a fear of taking action because you might fail - it can also be the result of sloth - a vice. Sloth is basically laziness. It's always easier to do nothing, especially if what you have to do takes a lot of effort, even a bit of fortitude (a virtue).
But the other, more serious pitfall, is that you'll take your planning too seriously. No, I'm not contradicting myself here. You should put a lot of effort into planning. But you should always remember that God's Plan is more important than yours.
So when I say don't take your plan too seriously, what I really mean is don't put your plan above God's.
Just remember that God has a plan for you. Every one of us is individually and totally loved by God and He looks out for our well-being all the time. He wants us to get to Heaven - probably more than most of us want to get to Heaven. So His Plan for you will help you to become holier so that you can get to Heaven.
Now, for most of us mortals, we just don't always know exactly what God has in mind for us. So it's not like we can compare each point of our plan to His Plan. So how do you deal with this?
What you can do - and what I try to do - is always pray that His will be done. It's right there in the Our Father: "Thy kingdom come, They Will be done." So pray the Our Father, pray specifically that you do His Will first and foremost.
And if you pray - seriously pray everyday - that you put His Will first, you'll probably find that, even as you work hard to accomplish your goals and objectives, you won't have that "edge" of anxiety or ambition that comes with being self-centered, that makes us think our plan is more important that His and therefore makes us think more about ourselves than about Him.
This is really important. It's not meant to denigrate the efforts you put into your plan. But the last thing you want to do is create a plan that winds up taking you away from God. Ultimately, you want your plan to be fully consistent with God's Plan for you.
If I knew some specific technique to make sure it does, I'd tell you. But I don't. Just pray.
Here's a suggestion: Keep "A Morning Resolve" handy while you plan. That's the prayer we've spent some time with in the past. You'll find it really appropriate while you go through the planning process. It will help you avoid these pitfalls.
Now get back to your assignment from Part 1 of this Practical Guide.
First, of course, is the whole procrastination thing. Don't worry, we all do it. But it's really awful if you put serious thought into planning your business and your life and then don't actually follow your plan. So make your mind up, better still pray that you don't procrastinate.
While procrastination can be caused by fear - a fear of taking action because you might fail - it can also be the result of sloth - a vice. Sloth is basically laziness. It's always easier to do nothing, especially if what you have to do takes a lot of effort, even a bit of fortitude (a virtue).
But the other, more serious pitfall, is that you'll take your planning too seriously. No, I'm not contradicting myself here. You should put a lot of effort into planning. But you should always remember that God's Plan is more important than yours.
So when I say don't take your plan too seriously, what I really mean is don't put your plan above God's.
Just remember that God has a plan for you. Every one of us is individually and totally loved by God and He looks out for our well-being all the time. He wants us to get to Heaven - probably more than most of us want to get to Heaven. So His Plan for you will help you to become holier so that you can get to Heaven.
Now, for most of us mortals, we just don't always know exactly what God has in mind for us. So it's not like we can compare each point of our plan to His Plan. So how do you deal with this?
What you can do - and what I try to do - is always pray that His will be done. It's right there in the Our Father: "Thy kingdom come, They Will be done." So pray the Our Father, pray specifically that you do His Will first and foremost.
And if you pray - seriously pray everyday - that you put His Will first, you'll probably find that, even as you work hard to accomplish your goals and objectives, you won't have that "edge" of anxiety or ambition that comes with being self-centered, that makes us think our plan is more important that His and therefore makes us think more about ourselves than about Him.
This is really important. It's not meant to denigrate the efforts you put into your plan. But the last thing you want to do is create a plan that winds up taking you away from God. Ultimately, you want your plan to be fully consistent with God's Plan for you.
If I knew some specific technique to make sure it does, I'd tell you. But I don't. Just pray.
Here's a suggestion: Keep "A Morning Resolve" handy while you plan. That's the prayer we've spent some time with in the past. You'll find it really appropriate while you go through the planning process. It will help you avoid these pitfalls.
Now get back to your assignment from Part 1 of this Practical Guide.
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