May 3 In 30 Challenge

“Persistence is the ability to maintain actions regardless of your feelings. You press on even when you feel like quitting. When you work on any big goal your motivation will wax and wane like the waves hitting the shore. Sometimes you’ll feel motivated, sometimes you won’t. But it’s not your motivation that creates results - it’s your action.

Persistence allows you to keep taking action even when you don’t feel motivated to do so, and therefore you keep accumulating results. Persistence will ultimately provide its own motivation. If you simply keep taking action, you’ll eventually get results, and results can be very motivating.”

                                                  ~ Zig Ziglar ~

The 3 In 30 challenge is a way to help set attainable goals, sometimes broken down into smaller steps as a way towards the larger goal. Instead of being vague, saying "I will eat more healthy", it encourages us to be specific, "I will add 2 more servings of fruit and vegetables to my daily diet." I came up with quite a list, and these are the 3 I am going to focus on during May.


1. I will be more patient, and slow to get angry, by counting to ten, quoting inspirational scripture in my head, and telling myself that instantly reacting doesn't solve anything. We all have our "days". Tired, stressed, feel like the world is sitting on our shoulders. I feel horrible when I do it, but sometimes I snap at my kids. I don't want to do that, and I believe that with deliberate practice, those moments will become few and far between. Listed below are a few scriptures I will be memorizing to help me in this goal.

Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.   Isaiah 40:31

This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.   James 1:19-20

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.   Romans 12:12


2. I will learn at least 40 Spanish words in the next month. I hope to learn more, but don't want to feel disappointed by making the number too large and not achieving it. I took Spanish in high school (at least 16 years ago....yikes!), but haven't really used it since. Now living in West TX, it would be very useful to have some knowledge of the language. I plan to enlist my Son's help in this goal. He loves learning new words in different languages, and will be a wonderful help.


3. Okay, this one may seem a bit trivial with everything else I could set as a goal, but it has been frustrating me for awhile. I will learn to make a Monkey Fist Knot. I've tried and tried, and can't seem to get it to come out right. I tried it so I could make a few toys for my doggy, a mini-schnauzer named Baxter. He will have at least one new toy by the end of this month. 


What goals have you set for yourself for May? If this is your first time hearing about the challenge, please join in! I will be posting once a week on my progress, and that will be a great way to keep myself accountable to my goals.

~ Thanks for stopping by ~

Jaime