Often times, we get so focused on our goals and the expectations we set for ourselves that we forget to give grace when these goals aren’t met or we aren’t perfect.
The thing that I forget most often: no one knows about these goals and expectations.
I could literally do nothing for an entire day except eat cookies and candy while binge-watching The Office, and only those who live with me would know. (I’m not saying I do this… but I could.)
Even on the off chance that you did tell someone about your personal goals and expectations, there are few that will judge as harshly as you would yourself for not succeeding. And who cares about what those naysayers think anyway?
A huge part of achieving a goal is not giving up!
Are you working on paying off debt? Saving for a house? Building up an emergency fund?
Or maybe you are working on building a side hustle? A small business? A big business? Maybe even a hobby.
Whatever the goal, remember to give yourself grace!
Your journey is not going to be perfect. I know this because 1) my journey has never been perfect (no matter how hard I’ve tried for perfection) and 2) life happens.
As long as you are consistent and keep trying, adjusting, and working, you will be successful in achieving whatever goal you’ve set for yourself.
In order to help us become better at giving grace, I gathered a list of 10 examples that you can apply in your life. My hope is that this list will inspire you to keep going, and to encourage you to not only give grace to others, but to yourself!
Real quick, here’s a little refresher on the definition of Grace:
*There are many different definitions out there, but for our purposes in this article, these are the most relevant.*
“Disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency.”
Merriam-Webster
“Grace is the opposite of karma, which is all about getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.”
Justin Holcomb
“Grace is unconditional love toward a person who does not deserve it.”
Paul Zahl
Basically, grace means that you accept and love yourself (and others) for who you (they) are, mistakes included.
You don’t give up on your goals, despite the fact that you missed that deadline or you failed in one area or no one bought your product. You keep trying, pushing, crawling toward that goal until you’ve met it! Until you are satisfied, happy, and content.
If it’s important enough, you can use grace in your favor and nothing will stop you!
Related Post: The Simple Formula to Set and Accomplish Your Goals
10 examples of applying grace in your life:
1) Having Debt
Remind yourself that your values have changed, you are wiser now, and any debt you’ve accumulated has brought you along this path for a purpose.
When I paid off my debt, it lead me to my passion of teaching others about money management (this blog)! Something good has come from your debt (or will come soon).
Find the silver lining. Recognize the lessons learned from having debt.
2) Paying Off Debt – Giving Up
Digging yourself out of debt often means you have to work twice as hard.
When you feel like giving up, or if you do give up, remember that you are further along than you were before. At least now you know that you can become debt-free and you even know what steps to take to get there!
3) Paying Off Debt – Getting off track
Changing your spending habits so you have extra to pay on debt can be challenging. No matter how many times you slip up and buy something that’s not in the budget, you are doing better than when you were adding to the debt.
Buy the treat and enjoy it (you deserve it!), but then course correct and jump back on the plan. You can do this!
4) Not completing everything on your never-ending to-do list
What did you accomplish? One thing? That’s amazing, great job! You should be proud of yourself for doing anything on your list.
5) Your house is a mess
Are the in-laws coming to visit soon? No? Then, don’t worry about it.
Are your kids fed and healthy and loved? Yes? Seriously, don’t worry about it! You can also be thankful for the fact that you have a home to make a mess in the first place.
Life is full of chaos. Maybe you can make a fun game out of cleaning the house once a month or once a week, including the whole family so it gets done quicker.
In the meantime, don’t worry about it. Everyone lives with a messy house at some point!
6) You fed your kids McDonalds, again
Wow! Your kids got to eat a meal they enjoy and went to sleep with a full belly?! Great job, mom and dad.
I’ll bet they went to sleep feeling happy and loved.
7) You bought Starbucks every day last week
First, yummy!
Second, do you mean to tell me that you started every day off with a delicious treat that helped you feel happy? That’s awesome!
Happiness adds so much value to every part of your day. Plus, it can infect others and spread to everyone you interact with. So, you spread joy all day thanks to a little morning treat.
Win-win!
8) Failing at something in your business or in life
Are you trying? Will you keep going and not give up? If “yes” is your answer, woo hoo!
Failure is a requirement to reach success. No one gets it right on the first try.
The only real failure is giving up on yourself. Don’t do that and you’ll always be successful.
9) Making zero sales from a new product you created
How exciting that you created a product! The hard part is over now.
I hope you feel super proud of yourself for completing something amazing. Now all you have to do is find your audience, those people with the problem that your product will solve. They are out there, so go get them! 🙂
The good news is that there are tons of people out there who want to help teach you to sell your product. Selling is a skill you can learn. Look for podcasts, videos, etc. where you can learn for free.
10) Your business is growing slower than you had hoped
Fast growth in a new business can be overwhelming. Be proud that you started a business and are having some growth, even if it’s small.
Your business is growing slowly so you have time to lay the foundation for an amazing future! Keep going, you got this!
Final Notes
We all make mistakes. Give yourself a break and move on. Try again.
If you can find grace next time you mess up, you’ll feel a whole lot better about yourself! Look for the silver lining, the lesson to learn, or something positive. Think optimistically and you’ll feel better in no time.
Is your goal to become debt-free? Let me help! Sign up for my FREE eBook and use this article to help you apply grace along your debt-free journey (plus, get exclusive updates about our website):