Five Steps for Goal Setting

I know it is already January 7th as I write this and many people have made New Year Resolutions that have already been broken--but I'll throw my two-cents into the ring. 

Let me share some brief thoughts to consider when you think about setting goals.  First, let’s deal with the why and then the how.

Why should we set goals?  Many people don’t like to set goals because it forces us to think, to be intentional, and setting goals makes us accountable thus giving the potential for failure.  What I have discovered is that I never achieve the goals I don’t set. 

I was struck by a comment by Mark Batterson when he said, “The brain is a goal-seeking organism.  When you set a goal, it creates structural tension in your brain, and the brain will seek to close the gap between you and your goal.” 

I believe this tension is good and it is what makes the day-to-day grind of life have meaning and value because we view the daily grind as part of a bigger picture—the goals we have set for ourselves.

Now we tackle the how of setting goals.  Here are five steps to consider:

1.  Pray:  Solomon tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”  (Proverbs 3:5).  I am assuming that we have a desire to get God’s help and to glorify God with our lives so let’s start with consulting Him.  This will help make sure our motivations and perspectives are in order.
2.  Evaluate:  take an honest look at my life to see where I am, where I have messed up, and what opportunities I have in front of me.
3.  Break it down:  establish areas to build your goals around.  Some of the areas I work with include family health, personal development, professional development, physical health, financial health, and spiritual health.  Having specific areas to think about helps me develop balanced goals.
4.  Write it down:  putting goals in writing forces us to have specific goals.  These should be measureable, repeatable, and sustainable.  If I can’t measure them, repeat them, and sustain them over a long period of time they are not good goals.
5.  Plan your review:  have a set target date for each goal and a reoccurring time when the goals will be evaluated.  With no monthly or quarterly review process the goals will easily slip away.  (This is my most difficult part—I get carried away in life and forget to review my goals.  I have to schedule a time on the calendar for review or it never gets done.)

Ok, let’s get started!  Dream big—you have a big Partner!

The Power of Hope

During the Christmas season I always try to read writings by various authors to rekindle the wonder of the incarnation.  As I was reading a rather simple writing the author referenced Matthew 12:21, a passage I don't remember ever using as a sermon text are even spending much time in meditation.  Matthew is actually quoting from Isaiah 42 following Jesus' healing of the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath.    After the healing the Pharisees begin their plot to kill Jesus and Jesus goes away into semi-hiding.  Matthew says all this was done to fulfill Isaiah's words and then quotes from Isaiah 42.  The last verse of the prophecy is verse 21.  Here is what is says from the NIV translation, "In his name the nations will put their hope."

I was suddenly grabbed by the word "hope."  Jesus came to bring "hope!"  In a messed up world of political chaos, economic hardship, rampant sickness, and broken relationships Jesus came to bring hope.

The writer of Hebrews tells us "faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Heb 11:1).  That means we can't have faith unless we first have hope.  We can't believe for the impossible until we have the hope of the impossible.  So my faith must have the fuel of hope to get started!

We are even told "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6).  Therefore, I can't please God until I have hope because faith starts with hope.

So the big question is, "What am I hoping for?"  As I face this season of Christmas--and a new year ahead, what am I hoping to see accomplished in my life, family, ministry, community, and world?  Am I dreaming big enough to release faith for the impossible?

Jesus came born of a virgin and laid in a manger so He could be nailed to a cross and buried in a tomb.  But He didn't stay in the tomb--He arose as God's plan of resurrection for all of us.  Because of His birth, life, death, and resurrection we all have hope.  None of us are past the point of hopelessness.

Let's ask God to release hope fresh in our lives this season and all year long.  Let's dare to hope for the impossible!