Goals are as unique as we are. They should reflect our unique personality and passions. And we arrive at them via different avenues. Whatever our goals may be, let's first examine their purpose. If we will consult the Lord before and in the midst of our goal planning, seeking His guidance, and submit to His will, we'll be amazed not only at the destination of our goals, but, also by the journey.
A goal is: something that you hope to achieve in the future.
1) Start with Prayer
Prayer is the best way to jump-start our process of goal setting. If you set goals in the context of prayer, there is a much higher likelihood that your goals will glorify God, and if they don’t glorify God, then they aren’t worth setting in the first place. So start with prayer.
2) Check Your Motives
If you set selfish goals, you would be better off spiritually if you didn’t accomplish them. That’s why we need to check our motives. Take a long, honest look in the mirror and make sure you’re going after your goals for the right reasons.
3) Think in Categories
Life goals, family goals, relationship goals, business goals, long-term and short-term goals.
4) Be Specific
Just like our prayers, our goals need to be specific. If a goal isn’t measurable, we have no way of knowing whether we’ve accomplished it. And it’s ok to make revisions to our visions.
5) Write It Down
“The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.” If you haven’t written down your goals, you haven’t really set them. Something powerful happens when you verbalize a goal, whether in a conversation or in a journal. And it’s more than a good idea; it’s a God idea: “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets.”
At some point in the process of goal setting, you need to muster the courage to verbalize it. That act of verbalization is an act of faith. When you write down a goal, it holds you accountable.
6) Include Others
Shared goals; nothing cements a relationship like a shared goal. Goals are relational glue.
7) Celebrate Along the Way
When you accomplish a goal, celebrate it. When God answers a prayer, throw a party. We should celebrate with the same intensity with which we pray.
8) Dream Big
Our life goal list will include goals that are big and small. It will include goals that are short-term and long-term. But I have one piece of advice: Make sure you have a few BAGs (Big Audacious Goals) on the list. We need some God-sized goals that qualify as crazy. Here’s why: big goals turn us into big people.
9) Think Long
Most of us overestimate what we can accomplish in two years, but we underestimate what we can accomplish in ten years. If we want to dream big, we need to think long. Big dreams often translate into long goals.
10) Pray Some More
Goal setting begins and ends with prayer. God-ordained goals are conceived in the context of prayer, and prayer is what brings them to full term.
Goals are as unique as we are. They should reflect our unique personalities and passions. And we arrive at them via different avenues. Whatever our goals may be, let's first examine their purpose and then look at them through these biblical keys. If we will consult the Lord before and in the midst of our goal planning, seeking His guidance, and submitting to His will, we'll be amazed not only at the destination of our goals, but, also by the journey.
A goal is: something that you hope to achieve in the future.
Biblical Keys to Goal Setting
1) Faith: We serve a big God who can accomplish the impossible. There is nothing He can’t do. We can believe that He journeys with us and always has our best in mind. He is trustworthy and faithful.
2) Humility: We never want to be in a position of demanding that things work out or that all our goals are accomplished exactly as we say. God's Will must always supersede our own. We need to be sure our attitude is one of humility before our holy and mighty God.
3) Commitment: We need to commit ourselves to the tasks at hand.
4) Diligence: Goals often require hard work. We need to be diligent in our effort.
5) Perseverance: We will face setbacks and disappointments, but need to persevere through rough times.
6) Alignment with God’s Word and Will: We must remain within the parameters of God’s Word and His Will.
7) Forethought & Planning: Do the appropriate homework before starting our task; count the cost.
8) Motivation: What is our reason for setting the goal; is our heart (desire) pure?
9) Plan ahead and have goals. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?" {Luke 14:28-31}
10) It is wise to have a goal in mind. "A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn't and even brags about it!" {Proverbs 13:16}
11) Get wise counsel to help you in setting goals. "Plans go wrong with too few counselors; many counselors bring success." {Proverbs 15:22}
12) Plan your goals carefully and deliberately, not in haste. "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty." {Proverbs 21:5}
13) Goals should include submission to God. "What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we shall live and do this or that.' Otherwise you will be bragging about your own plans, and such self-confidence never pleases God." {James 4:15-16}
