How I Achieved a Major Life's Goal

GOAL: I didn't post a blog last week because we were touring the Holy Land. I set a goal to visit the Holy Land more than 45 years ago.

Our family visits the Holy Land. My father taught Sunday School for more than two decades. He could draw free hand maps of the Holy City. People who visited the Holy Land swore his drawings were accurate. He had never been to Jerusalem. He visited the Holy Land with my mother in the 1990's. My grandparents visited the Holy Land in the 1970's when they were in their seventies. I visited it last week with my father, my wife, my brother, my sisters, and our spouses. My mother could not come due to health reasons.

OTHERS: My mother and father helped us achieve the goal. They paid for all of us to go. They put together a private tour when our original tour cancelled four weeks before our departure. They worked with the tour guides to make the tour great.

ACTION: We worked hard to prepare for the trip. My wife and I read several books about the Holy Land and the life of Jesus Christ. I listened to Cd's of the Old Testament to understand what happened anciently. We watched three documentaries of more than 16 hours each. We acted to mentally prepare. We also prepared physically by walking more, climbing more stairs. and eating less. Our actions made the trip more meaningful. My wife, who suffers extreme motion sickness, tested some medical patches, that helped her travel well.

LIMITATIONS: We recognized several limitations to our trip. Carol suffers motion sickness. We wanted money to spend. We wanted to be able to physically keep up with the others. We overcame these real solutions by testing patches, exercising, and saving money. My parents resolved how to pay for the trip. We also encountered several limitations in addition to real limitations. My wife suffered a windmill in her fears of sickness, allergies, and not sleeping her own bed. We dealt with them through prayer, psychology, and illogical methods.

SYNERGY: Finally, we met frequently to review other people's pictures and experiences. We exchanged multiple emails to keep one another informed and motivated. We reported our preparations to one another.

I loved our trip to the Holy Land. I treasure the memories stored in my mind forever. I'm grateful to my parents, especially my mother, for making the trip possible. Finally, I appreciate that GoalsWorked to make it happen. I will add another blog about the trip tomorrow.