Helping People is Worth Far More than Your Doubts

Have you ever thought about what life will be like after you reach your goals? I'll be honest when I say that I never did. For the majority of my life, most of my goals had to deal with topics that seemed out of reach for a high school/college student: finding your dream job, getting married, starting your adult life, being financially independent, etc. etc. For the first few decades of our lives, we spend time working towards goals that seem elusive at best, and we don't have much of a plan for after we get to the finish line.  If I've learned anything throughout the last year, it's that the main feeling that begins to seep in after reaching a goal or making a big life change is doubt. You've done it, you've made it to the place that you always wanted to go, but...now what? Was this the right decision? Are the risks actually going to pay off? How do I sustain this? These are questions that I have found myself asking every single day for the last several months.

I can pinpoint a thousand times that I felt God leading me to move to Colorado, but that doesn't mean that I don't wake up a lot of days thinking about the things I left behind. I worked for years to have the career that I am lucky enough to have now, but there are days that I worry that I'm going to screw everything up. There are days that I think about how different life would be if Ross and I had both just gotten "normal jobs", stayed in Nashville, and tried not to rock the boat. After working my entire life to stand out from the crowd, I've suddenly become very envious of a lifestyle that would allow me to blend in. 

In times of worry, I remember the moments when I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was being led in a different direction. We don't get too many moments of clarity when it comes to big decisions, so that is why it is so important to cling to the words of encouragement and circumstances that affirmed our actions. Lastly, it is important to remember that sometimes you are placed in a situation solely to have an impact on someone else, and you may never see the return on your investment.

Last week, I read a quote in Lara Casey's book Make it Happen that said, "Helping people is worth far more than your doubts." At the end of the day, if you are living your life to make an impact on the people around you, that in and of itself makes pressing on through the unknowns a worthwhile cause. When you find yourself asking "now what?" and questioning your steps, remember that you were placed where you are for a reason. You will have plenty of moments full of doubt, but that is when you take the time to set new goals, refocus, and realize that life never stops moving forward.