I love good goals. For real though, I love setting them, making them work, realizing they don't work, talking about them, everything. It took me a long time to figure this out, and I am definitely not great at it. I would probably be more likely to say I am decent or mediocre at goals. Goals can be intimidating, right? Many times I feel like I have to have these big decisions about my life made in order to create goals. In case anyone was fooled, I have no idea what God has in store for me or wants me to do with my life, but hey, I'm working on it.
Today, I thought I'd share with you guys some things I've learned about goal setting and encourage you to set your own goals.
IMPORTANT: You don't have to have everything about your life or even one area of your life figured out to set a good goal. You can be totally lost or clueless and still set a good goal.
Goals should be SMART. We talked about this acronym for goals at Proskuneo when trying to set short and long term goals for the ministry, and I really loved it.
Specific- Goals should be specific. The more vague the goal the less likely it will be accomplished.
Measurable- You should be able to see progress on all your goals. Saying your are going to read a lot of books this summer isn't a good goal. Saying you are going to read 5 books this summer is a good goal.
Attainable- I can't emphasize this one enough. Set a goal that you challenges you but is doable. There has to be balance here. If you never read, but want to, set a goal to read 5 books this summer. This is an attainable goal. If you make the goal to read 50 books you are likely going to fail. Set yourself up for success, but challenge
yourself.
Realistic- This is similar to attainable and really echos the concept well. If you have never written anything, don't set the goal to write 3 books in one year. Challenge yourself but know yourself. The easiest way for me to achieve both attainable and realistic goals is to share them with someone else, but I will talk more about that in a minute.
Time-bound- I've found that for most people it is super important to have a time frame for your goals. Without this it can be more difficult to see progress and to measure your goals. If your goal is to read 5 books, but you don't say in how long, I'm sure you'll eventually accomplish it, but who knows when and whether you'll actually realize you've accomplished it.
This is a great starting place for setting goals, but there are a few things I want to remind you of:
1) Pray about your goals. This is the most important step in setting good goals. Don't try and do it on your own.
2) Challenge yourself. Don't sell yourself short. You are capable of amazing things. You are called to do amazing things.
3) Amazing things don't always look amazing. My mom is one of my heroes. To most people it probably doesn't look like she does anything particularly amazing, but I think she might be the strongest person I've ever met. I don't think she would ever even think to call herself amazing, but she is. You don't have to be the president, end world hunger, or find the cure for cancer to be amazing. All you have to do to be amazing is do what God has called you to do.
4) Share your goals with someone who can help keep you accountable. This is such a huge part of goal setting, and it is probably the thing that gets skipped the most. Having accountability is scary. It means someone else knows the goals you are setting for yourself, which means they'll know if you fail or succeed. Don't let that stop you. Having accountability also means having someone encourage and challenge you in your goals. Trust me on this one friends, it is so worth it.
5) Share your goals with someone who can help you make good, smart goals. This might not be true for everyone, but it definitely is for me. Pick someone who knows you, your life, your schedule, your passions, and your heart well. This person will help you tailor your goals. They will tell you the areas that you need to challenge yourself more in or make more realistic.
6) Take time to set your goals. Don't feel like you have to go right now and write down all of your goals. I've been working on my goals for the summer since January, and I'm still working.
Goal setting can be really hard. It can also be really fun and fulfilling. Don't get overwhelmed. I want to challenge each of you to set three good, smart goals for this summer. Whether you are 13 or 83 years old, you are capable of setting and accomplishing good goals. I'm not just challenging you guys, I've been working on creating goals for myself and will be sharing them with you guys super soon so you can help keep me accountable.
Now, go set some good goals.
Today, I thought I'd share with you guys some things I've learned about goal setting and encourage you to set your own goals.
IMPORTANT: You don't have to have everything about your life or even one area of your life figured out to set a good goal. You can be totally lost or clueless and still set a good goal.
Goals should be SMART. We talked about this acronym for goals at Proskuneo when trying to set short and long term goals for the ministry, and I really loved it.
Specific- Goals should be specific. The more vague the goal the less likely it will be accomplished.
Measurable- You should be able to see progress on all your goals. Saying your are going to read a lot of books this summer isn't a good goal. Saying you are going to read 5 books this summer is a good goal.
Attainable- I can't emphasize this one enough. Set a goal that you challenges you but is doable. There has to be balance here. If you never read, but want to, set a goal to read 5 books this summer. This is an attainable goal. If you make the goal to read 50 books you are likely going to fail. Set yourself up for success, but challenge
yourself.
Realistic- This is similar to attainable and really echos the concept well. If you have never written anything, don't set the goal to write 3 books in one year. Challenge yourself but know yourself. The easiest way for me to achieve both attainable and realistic goals is to share them with someone else, but I will talk more about that in a minute.
Time-bound- I've found that for most people it is super important to have a time frame for your goals. Without this it can be more difficult to see progress and to measure your goals. If your goal is to read 5 books, but you don't say in how long, I'm sure you'll eventually accomplish it, but who knows when and whether you'll actually realize you've accomplished it.
This is a great starting place for setting goals, but there are a few things I want to remind you of:
1) Pray about your goals. This is the most important step in setting good goals. Don't try and do it on your own.
2) Challenge yourself. Don't sell yourself short. You are capable of amazing things. You are called to do amazing things.
3) Amazing things don't always look amazing. My mom is one of my heroes. To most people it probably doesn't look like she does anything particularly amazing, but I think she might be the strongest person I've ever met. I don't think she would ever even think to call herself amazing, but she is. You don't have to be the president, end world hunger, or find the cure for cancer to be amazing. All you have to do to be amazing is do what God has called you to do.
4) Share your goals with someone who can help keep you accountable. This is such a huge part of goal setting, and it is probably the thing that gets skipped the most. Having accountability is scary. It means someone else knows the goals you are setting for yourself, which means they'll know if you fail or succeed. Don't let that stop you. Having accountability also means having someone encourage and challenge you in your goals. Trust me on this one friends, it is so worth it.
5) Share your goals with someone who can help you make good, smart goals. This might not be true for everyone, but it definitely is for me. Pick someone who knows you, your life, your schedule, your passions, and your heart well. This person will help you tailor your goals. They will tell you the areas that you need to challenge yourself more in or make more realistic.
6) Take time to set your goals. Don't feel like you have to go right now and write down all of your goals. I've been working on my goals for the summer since January, and I'm still working.
Goal setting can be really hard. It can also be really fun and fulfilling. Don't get overwhelmed. I want to challenge each of you to set three good, smart goals for this summer. Whether you are 13 or 83 years old, you are capable of setting and accomplishing good goals. I'm not just challenging you guys, I've been working on creating goals for myself and will be sharing them with you guys super soon so you can help keep me accountable.
Now, go set some good goals.