personal growth – Peter Gowesky

Mid-Year Reset: Why Your Goals Might Be Off Track (and What to Do About It)

May 20, 2025 No Comments

Can you believe we’re already halfway through 2025? It feels like we just rang in the New Year—but here we are. The days are flying, the calendar is filling up, and somewhere along the way, those big goals we set in January… may have started to fizzle.

If that’s where you are right now, take a deep breath. You’re not alone. In fact, I’m right there with you.

I had a few goals I was fired up about back in January—some big ones, honestly. But somewhere between the school drop-offs, work projects, and late-night chips and salsa sessions (yes, that one’s still going strong), I lost a little steam.

And you know what?

That’s okay.

Goals aren’t sacred. They’re not laws. They’re markers. Targets. They’re tools to help you move forward, not sticks to beat yourself with.

But now that we’re in the thick of the year, it might be time for a reset. A check-in. A “monitor and adjust” moment.

Two Big Reasons Your Goals Derail

1. Your goals aren’t clear.

Saying “I want to get in shape” sounds great… but what does that mean? Walk more? Lift weights? Drop 10 pounds? Eat fewer jelly donuts? (Let’s not get crazy.)

Try this:

Instead of saying, “I want to be healthier,” reframe it: “I want to walk 10,000 steps a day at least five days a week.”

Specific. Measurable. Achievable.

Now go further—what are 3 small steps you can take this week to get moving?

2. You ran out of discipline

Here’s the truth about discipline: it’s not a personality trait, it’s a muscle. And just like muscles, it weakens when it’s not used and strengthens when it’s trained.

Discipline means doing what needs to be done—even when it’s not convenient. That might mean skipping the drive-thru, logging your progress, or walking past the donut box at work without making eye contact.

If your discipline has slipped, don’t quit. Rebuild. Start again with something small and consistent.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up—Recalibrate

If you’re not where you thought you’d be by now—give yourself grace. But don’t stay stuck. You can course correct. You can finish stronger than you started.

Ask yourself:

Where am I now?
Where do I want to be?
What’s the next small step I can take today?

You don’t need a new year to start fresh. You just need a new decision.

Let’s reset and finish well.

~Peter

In Leadership & Calling

The Strength in the Same: Why Self-Leadership Is Built in the Mundane

May 15, 2025 No Comments

We want the results, but rarely the routine.

We admire the strength in others, but often avoid the path it took to get there.

But here’s the truth: you don’t build resilience in front of a crowd. You build it in the quiet, hidden spaces of discipline and repetition.

There’s a kind of glory in the grind—an unseen strength that forms not in sprints, but in the slow, daily rhythm of showing up again.

This is self-leadership: doing the hard, holy work when no one’s watching.

Greatness Starts in the Mundane

You won’t always feel like reading your Bible, taking care of your body, showing up early, or having that hard conversation. But the disciplined life is the developed life.

J. Oswald Sanders puts it this way in Spiritual Leadership:

“The emerging leader eats right, stands tall, and prepares himself to wage spiritual warfare. He will without reluctance undertake the unpleasant tasks that others avoid or the hidden duty that others evade because it wins no public applause.”

That’s the kind of leader the world is desperate for—someone who embraces the mundane because they know what it builds.

Proverbs Wisdom: Discipline Pays Off

The Bible is full of wisdom on this topic. It doesn’t glorify the hustle for applause—it lifts up diligence and daily faithfulness:

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

Proverbs 21:5 NIV

And again:

“Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.”

Proverbs 20:13 NIV

These verses don’t just talk about work ethic—they describe an internal posture. A kind of spiritual readiness that’s formed when we say yes to the same faithful steps, over and over.

Don’t Despise the Daily

You won’t always get immediate results. Sometimes all you get is sore muscles, quiet mornings, and another day of “nothing big.” But what’s happening underneath is everything.

Muscle is forming.

Character is being shaped.

Trust is being built.

You are becoming the kind of person who can be trusted with more.

Self-leadership begins before anyone else calls you a leader. It starts with your alarm clock, your attitude, your private obedience. So today, don’t rush past the mundane. Lean into it. Get up. Do the thing again. And again. And again.

It won’t feel like success. But it will build the strength to carry it.

What’s one mundane routine you’ve been tempted to skip lately? Drop it in the comments or share this post with someone who needs to be reminded that the small things matter.

In Faith in Real Life

One Year at a Time: The Power of Simple Truths That Keep You Going

September 23, 2013 4 Comments

A while ago I wrote a post on my favorite axioms. I try to remind myself of these all the time. An axiom is a self-evident truth that requires no proof. Okay, so they are my axioms, which means that they are self evident to me. They are incredibly helpful to me, and may be for you too. They are like lights on the runway for me. They help guide me and give me direction.

I have realized that since the time that I wrote that post, another one has popped up in my life. It is not as profound as some of the others, but still encouraging. Here’s the latest.

Anyone can do anything for a year.

I warned you. It’s not profound. In fact it is incredibly simple. That is one of the reasons why I love it. It’s a timeless reminder to me not to give up or give in. Some days I feel like a distance runner, and other days I feel like a sprinter. On the days I feel like a sprinter and I am about to give up because the race is longer than I expected it would be or harder than I thought it was going to be I need to be reminded that anyone can do anything for a year.

This encourages me to keep going. Keep dreaming, keep following Jesus in the midst of whatever it is that is currently going on. I find myself sharing this with people almost every week. So whatever difficulty you are going through right now, remember, Anyone can do anything for a year. I’m convinced of it. Keep going. Just take the next step. And then tomorrow take the next one. You’ll get there. I promise!

Likely you have your own axioms, I’d love to hear them too. Drop them in the comments below.

~Peter