Earlier on the blog, I wrote about how we need to be more growth-oriented than goal-oriented, and the importance of growth through a parable from the Bible.
Since then, I’ve done a lot of reading about goals and growth, and a lot more pondering. This article on Buffer made me question why I set goals in the first place.
I was initially inspired to set goals by Money Saving Mom. She sets weekly goals and shares them on her blog. I decided to try it out and found that setting monthly goals and sharing them on the blog actually helped me be more intentional with things I wanted to do.
And then, I went through a phase where I couldn’t reach more than a couple of my monthly goals. I began stressing out over the goals I had to reach, and kept pushing myself until I burnt out. Rather than shamefacedly admit that I hadn’t met my goals for yet another month, I stopped setting monthly goals altogether!
And then I read this on Peak 313’s Facebook page:
If you find yourself discouraged, or in a stand still, may I ask you–are you goal or growth focused? Have you realized that God may just want to teach you something during the PROCESS as opposed to just hitting the end?
I tried to convince myself that growth and not goals was the answer. And then I saw this image on Money Saving Mom’s Facebook page.
Yeah… that makes a lot of sense! Goals are good, growth is better… Growth-focused goals are the best!
So where does that leave me with goal setting? I set goals that focus on the growth process.
For example:
- Learning something from my Bible study, rather than simply completing it on time.
- Encouraging the kids to read, rather than just reading to them (even if we read only one page a day).
- Enjoying a book I’m reading, rather than trying to cram as books as I can into my week.
In a quest to stop rushing and achieving, I’ve decided to slow down and enjoy the ride. For now, I set simple goals such as:
- Teach the kids one new thing
- Read one chapter of the book I’m currently reading
- Write one blog post
Some days, the only goal I aim for is striking a few things off my to-do list. Sometime in the future I might aim to walk 20Km or read a dozen books in a month. But now is not that time. And I’m learning to be OK with that.
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