What Are Your Goals?

Having goals seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it?  For most people they are like new years resolutions- a wish list.  They don’t really expect to achieve them, although it would be nice if they could.  But could is a word that is used more like an excuse instead of the first step to inspire them to achieve something better.

I used to hate setting goals, because I believed the lie that if I set a goal and didn’t meet it then I was a failure.  I also saw setting goals that other’s new about it as risking public humiliation.

The truth is even the most successful people fail on a daily basis.  The billionaires often lose millions of dollars on a venture they invested in, but that is not focused on or seen as failure.  The only thing we see is their fancy car or their big house.

Every successful person has goals, and every failure doesn’t! 

That being said there is something that needs to happen before you can set goals and be fulfilled once you reach them: you have to define what success is.  There are as many ways to define success as there are people in the world. 

Most often the word success is defined monetarily: the big house, the nice car, the large checking account.  However, we also find a lot of “successful” people in Hollywood that are empty and depressed. 

Defining success has many levels: relationships, spiritual aspects, standard of living, philanthropy, provision, the ability to inspire, the ability to create, freedom from debt, and the list goes on.

It is important to define success in each of these areas so your overall vision of success is congruent with who you are.  For example, let’s say I based my success on being able to provide better for my family and to pay for my children to go to any college they wanted to, but don’t have any goals that focus on having healthy, deep relationships with my family or teaching them spiritual truth.

By only focusing on a few area of success I would wind up achieving success in some areas of my life, but still find myself feeling empty in other areas.  It is important that your goals move you toward your define of success in all areas of your life; balance them equally. 

Once you have defined what success is to you, you can now start setting goals.  It is when we become intentional and set goals that we increase our chances of success.

In each area of success you need to set long term goals: 3-5 years, short term goals: 1 month – 2 years and daily goals.  Your daily goals should lead you toward your short term goals, and your short term goals should lead you to your long term goals.

If you only have long term goals you will eventually become discouraged and give up.  If you only have short term or daily goals you will eventually become bored. 

These goals are not wishes that you are making about the future, but obtainable steps that will continually encourage your toward your long term goal.  Achieving your short term goals should make you feel excited and proud of yourself.  It is that feeling that will encourage you forward.

It is also important to reward yourself on a regular basis.  I once looked at a fancy restaurant as said to my son, “If I get the new job we are going to celebrate as a family by eating there!”  Every time we passed that restaurant my son would say, “I can’t wait to eat there!”

Start defining what success means to you.  You may find that you are already successful, or you just might find out that you haven’t been challenging yourself enough and you can achieve more for yourself and others!

                                                           

Johnny Walker is a Christian counselor and Coach, and the founder of Family Works Counseling