Personal Syllabus for Ongoing Growth

Vacations are usually very nice. Having just returned from a week in Wisconsin celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, this diversion was exceptionally sweet. The problem I find is in returning back to the routine. My schedule is simply not aligned with the life that I left behind for a short respite. All my lazy inclinations overwhelm my good intentions.

As a child I hated to see the back to school signs. It meant an end to carefree summers and a return to semesters filled with tasks.

Yet by the time I made it to college I saw it a bit differently. That first day of class when the syllabus was distributed, once I got over the initial shock, I got a bit excited for all that would be accomplished. I'm generally very task oriented. By the time I started seminary it was even exciting to see the list of books, papers, and projects that would be assigned.

The sad truth: I accomplish far more things when held accountable. I'm sure it's true for most of us. Few people are that self-motivated to complete goals without outside supervision or reporting. When we pay money for a college class, we feel compelled to do our best to complete the assignments and get the promised grades.

It occurred to me that I could write a personal syllabus for ongoing growth as an adult. Certainly from a Christian's perspective, studying the Bible consistently is easier when on a schedule. I still have many books still unread. And I still have more to learn about using my Macbook Pro. And I also listen to iTunes lectures often while driving to work. On top of that, I still want to write more on this blog on biblical theological concepts and practical things that fellow believers may find useful. With such a varied menu of things to accomplish in life, a personal syllabus laid out similarly to college courses do it would keep me a bit more on target.

Obviously, it's simply for my own good. Personal growth is an essential quality for all of us. I just wonder if I will take the time to identify all the things I feel I should tackle. If I do, how much should I include? How detailed should it be? This is something I'll have to ponder during the summer....perhaps by August I'll have my personal syllabus in place and will get to work on my academic plan. Let's see how this goes!