Thomas Sfraga, Period 7, 4/30/2022

 Goal Setting & Growth.

 

At this current point in time, what specific goal(s) do you have for yourself? Why

How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? (or these goals?)

How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal? (or these goals?)

At this current point in my life, I have quite too many things on my plate unfortunately. Whether it’s schoolwork overload, late night work shifts, or struggling to focus, I feel as if I’m barely surviving. I can tell you that, well, I’m definitely not living or thriving. However, I truly believe that, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28); and by that sentiment I am able to establish some goals for myself even in this rough time. God is good, not only to me but to all people. The love and joy that he has been made manifest by allowing me to put my faith in Jesus Christ is unrivaled. That joy propels me even in times of suffering like this, I can say with full conviction in my heart that I know there’s a bright future ahead of me. At this time I have about 4 goals that tie into the main aspects of my life: my mental, physical, spiritual, and financial well being.. Goal 1 - Finish out the school year strong. Goal 2 - Continue on my weight loss journey. Goal 3 - Stay rooted in my faith, growing each and every day. Goal 4 - Work, work, and work even more. 

I am missing a lot of work for school, including this blog which I’m making up I believe nearly a month late. I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 5, I don’t think I understood the depth of it until I got to high school. Being loaded up with a bunch of work is difficult for someone like me who has ADHD because I can’t control the amount of attention that I give to certain things. There will be times where I can lock in for 3 hrs and then theres times where 30 seconds is all my brain can delegate. So for the past 3 months or so I’ve just been out of it. My brain has been in other places. I am working slowly but surely to make up my assignments, getting them all in piece by piece. It also doesn’t help that I know the type of person I am and which environments I thrive in, school not being one of them. School has never been a “home” for me, yet I have to complete it for my future. It will be a struggle but I’m equipped with what it takes. 

On August 17th, 2021, I looked at myself in the mirror and was absolutely destroyed. I had let myself go and it became more evident as I stepped on a scale and the numbers read 252. From that moment forward, I pledged to myself and to my God that I wouldn’t stop until I was comfortable in my own skin. Over the course of 7 months I’ve lost nearly 65 pounds, yet in this last month or so, simply because of how busy I’ve been I haven’t been able to keep my momentum going. I’ve hit a wall and am starting to gain some weight back. I need to feel good about myself and to feel good physically in order to thrive in the other areas of my life. My goal is to implement a gym regiment into my schedule. I am not sure exactly what that means yet, but I will, and as soon as I find out, I’ll do my best to see it done.

My faith is unarguably the biggest aspect of my life and the very thing that sustains me. This is a very difficult topic to speak on, because unless you live a Christian life and understand the significance of the work of Jesus, you will not grasp a lot of what I’m saying. However, these are my thoughts, my goals, and my testimony! Being a Christian to me is not simply a title, but a privilege. The Bible speaks on how humans are in every way unworthy of living, yet through Christ we are enabled to live. God has been so gracious to me and has supplied me with exactly what I need in every situation. However, I feel like I’m backsliding and not taking this as seriously as I should. My eyes are set on things that aren’t glorifying God, that defile me, and that make the gap between him and I so much larger than I wish it to be. To combat this, really the only way is to draw close to God, seeking intimacy with him in the form of prayer, reading scripture, and fellowship with those around me who are also in the faith. I’m hoping that this is simply a season for me and that this period does not get prolonged any further. There’s a blessing an a lesson in every situation, soon both of those will be revealed to me, on God’s timing.

 My fourth and final goal has to with my financial well being, which is something I feel I’m too fixated on. Growing up, money definitely didn’t grow on trees. My parents really used to go broke on Christmas trying to provide. I have told many people this but, I truly will not stop until I’m financially stable. I don’t want to ever worry about if I have enough money in my bank account again. So, I work, very often, for very long hours, and of course very good pay. But it’s tiring, and I find myself not getting enough sleep some nights. I still do want to work more and continue to grind it out so that I can be good to go when college rolls around. 

Overally I see the main way of achieving all of these goals is to just finish out school strongly. Once I get to the summer, a lot of time opens up and I’ll be able to truly get back into the gym, I’ll have so much more time to dedicate to God, and I’ll have some more time to sleep so work won’t beat me up as much. I count myself blessed and highly favored even though I walk through this valley that seems unescapable.