Goals

As we slowly but surely make our way through the last week of June, I can’t help but wonder how quickly 6 months of 2018 have flown by.

I’ve realized that half-time is a good time to pause, reflect, re-strategize and plow on ahead to crush some goals!

Just ask any football fan.

While I’m trying to wrestle the TV remote away from my husband during half-time, the teams are probably making the most of that 15 minute break… planning how they can score more goals in the second half and win the game.

Side note: I’m not really a football fan, but my husband and sons are… so, I’m learning more about the game than I really care to!

Well, so back to the topic…

I’ve always been a goal-setter, list-maker, checkbox-ticker… Writing down everything I want to get done gives me almost as much satisfaction as getting it all done!

I had taken a break from setting yearly goals the past 2 years since my husband was away and our life seemed to be on survival mode.

So, when 2018 dawned, I knew it was high time I got back to my goal setting ways.

I already had a running list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 40. So, I decided I would incorporate some of them into my yearly goals as well.

In truth, I was looking for a different method of setting goals because working on only one set of goals for a whole year can be quite boring and exhausting.

When I came across a couple of articles about setting 90-day goals here and here, I jumped at the idea.

After 2 quarters of following this plan, I’ve made more progress than I expected to.

In case you’re interested, here’s the method I followed.

1. List the different areas of life where I wanted to see progress.

For me, it was:

• Spiritual
• Physical
• Intellectual
• Relational

2. Note down specific things I wanted to accomplish in these areas over the course of the year.

Here’s what that looked like…

Spiritual:

• Read X books of the Bible.
• Revamp my prayer list
• Read X non-fiction books by Christian authors.

Physical:

• Walk/Run X Km on the treadmill.
• Reach a particular goal weight.
• Relearn swimming.

Intellectual:

• Journal consistently. (I hope to publish another blog post on this soon!)
• Read good literature to improve my vocabulary and writing skills.
• Publish X blog posts.

Relational:

• Go on X dates with my husband.
• Travel to one new place as a family.
• Visit/entertain friends and extended family.

3. Take just a few of these goals and focus on them for just 90 days.

I did not want to overwhelm myself, so I listed only 10 goals for the first 90 days. In complete honestly, I did not achieve all 10 by the end of the quarter.

But I chose to look at what I did accomplish (which was quite a bit):

• 6 goals fully completed
• 2 goals partially completed

The beauty of setting 90-day goals is that you can add/delete/tweak them as you see fit each quarter. You get to start afresh every 90 days, instead of waiting a whole year and feeling like you’ve failed at achieving your goals.

Out of the 11 goals I listed for the second quarter (April to June), I’ve completed just 4. But I’ve made quite a bit of progress on 4 more.

As much as I love setting goals and achieving them, I’ve also realized the importance of giving myself wiggle room and being gracious with myself.

I’m ending this month going back over my previous 90-day goals and setting new ones for the upcoming quarter.

I’ve written a lot about goals over the past 6 years. I look back and laugh at my naivety now, but I’m thankful for the lessons I’ve learnt through the years.

If you want to laugh along, you should check out these posts from my archives.

Is goal-setting something you’re interested in? How do you do it?

Photo Credit: freestocks.org on Unsplash

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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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Earlier on the blog, I wrote about how we need to be more growth-oriented than goal-oriented.  Today’s post is about the importance of growth and a lesson I learnt from the Bible.

During my Good Morning Girls study, I came across the parable of the minas in Luke 19.  In this parable, ten servants were given a mina each and asked to engage in business until their master returned.  On his return, the nobleman obviously wanted to know what each servant had gained by doing business.  Well, one servant made 10 more minas and another 5, but there was one servant who showed no increase because he did no business!

The first two servants were commended and rewarded for their growth, while the third servant did nothing and was chided.  The first two servants put their minas to good use and showed a profit/increase.  The third did not!

This made me think of the gifts, abilities, talents and skills God has given me.  Am I using my gifts?  Am I improving my skills?

Use your Gifts

What gifts do you possess that you know are God-given?  Have you put them to good use?  For example, if you have the gift of intercession, have you prayed for someone in need lately?

Improve your Skills

What skills has God given you that you need to improve on?  Let’s say you’re good at writing… what can you do to improve it?  Can you read more articles about the art of writing, brush up on your grammar or practice writing a little something everyday?

Don’t be Afraid

The third servant was afraid and therefore, didn’t put his mina to use.  Perhaps he thought if he invested it, there was the risk of losing his investment altogether.  But the truth is that he should have obeyed his master who specifically said, “Engage in business.”

What has God told you to do that you’ve been dodging?  What is hindering you?  Is it fear?  I love how Jon Acuff says “Punch fear in the face!”

The fact remains that if God has asked you to do something, He will also give you the means to do it.  There is no need to fear when God is near!

Until He Returns

The servants who were diligent when the master was away were rewarded when he returned.  We have a King in heaven who will be returning to rule one day.  Are we diligently engaging in business until He returns?  Do the activities we engage in build us up or wear us down?

We all have a purpose in life.  And if we are not moving towards it, we are not growing.  If we don’t utilize our gifts and skills to accomplish our life purpose, why exactly did God give them to us in the first place?  When God returns, will we be able to show a good return for His investment in our lives?

Take a few minutes today to think about the gifts and abilities you’ve been blessed with.  Pray about how you can put your gifts to good use and improve your skills, and then go do it!

I still have a bit more to share.  I’ll wind up this impromptu series next week!

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I came across the following image on Peak313’s Facebook page a few months back.

This page from John C. Maxwell’s book basically drives the point that we need to place a higher priority on growth rather than goals.

I am a huge fan of goals.  In fact, for a year and a half I set monthly goals and spent my days working to achieve them!  But over the past few months I’ve let that habit slide.

If you look at the last set of goals I made in June this year, I did strike out a few of them – my Bible studies, purging the kids’ clothes, walking, and my reading.  But a few of them still remain undone {It’s been 4 months and I’m still plodding my way through the book of Exodus!}.

One area I feel badly about is this blog.  I used to have a weekly blogging goal that looked something like this:

Monday – Counting my Blessings post
Tuesday/Wednesday – A good content post
Thursday – Top 3 Thursday post
Friday – 5 Minute Friday post

I haven’t followed that schedule in at least 6 months!  I don’t think I’ve ever been this inconsistent since I started blogging.  I have about 30 blog posts in the draft stage, but I simply lack the time and mental clarity required to edit and publish them.

Some of my old goals don’t make a lot of sense anymore.

I love this quote from Holley Gerth’s ebook, “Do What You Can” Plan:

“What’s necessary is realizing that goals aren’t ultimatums; they are simply directions. We are in charge of them— they’re not in charge of us. Goals can be changed, adjusted, or dismissed any time we’d like or as soon as God shows us that it’s time for a switch.”

So, I’m learning that it’s okay to not meet my own goals sometimes.  Seasons change, life happens…  It’s okay to discard old goals, make new ones, or not set goals at all for a while.

True, goals are important in life… but growth matters more.  We need to grow, mature, improve in all aspects of life.  We cannot let the inability to meet our goals hinder our personal growth.  We cannot afford to become stagnant.

I have a bit more to share on the topic of growth, but duty calls :).  I’ll post the rest in another post {hopefully} next week.

I encourage you to think about this today:

Are you goal conscious or growth conscious?  In what areas of your life do you need to grow?

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