Goal Success: You Can Too With Goal Setting

Tony Campolo tells a wonderful story about a young man who found joy and pleasure in the most unlikely place. The young man was a professor of English Literature at a state university. He had a PhD in his field. He had everything going for him except joy and fulfillment. One day, the young professor walked into the dean’s office and said, “I quit.” The dean, surprised, looked at the young professor and told him that he could not leave and that if he decided to do so, he would never get a teaching job again. The young professor looked grimly at the dean of him and said, “Okay.” He then he went out the door to find his future.

So what happened to this young professor? He became a postman. “What a waste,” we say. “He had his PhD! He should be teaching! That’s where he’ll make all the difference!” Oh, he’s making a difference… as a postman. You see, he’s a lousy postman but an amazing human being. Most of the other postmen in his post office finish his routes at least two hours before the young professor finishes his. Why is he so slow? Because he visits. The professor discovered that many of the people on his route were never visited until he became his postman. He discovered how lonely and hurt people are out of love and kindness. The professor said that he discovered that the people on his route are interesting people who, believe it or not, love literature. Is the young professor still teaching? Absolutely! The only thing he has changed is the location of his classroom. By the way, is the young professor making a difference? What do you think?

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned the immortal words that all Americans were entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Notice that he did not say the guarantee of happiness. In fact, it was Benjamin Franklin (who helped write the Declaration of Independence) who pointed out that in order to achieve happiness, “you have to achieve it yourself.” We have to be like that young professor and pursue our happiness. Well, that is exactly what we are going to talk about now: how to achieve happiness. I believe that happiness is found in the pursuit of a goal. A dream that seizes your life with passion. But how do we make it come alive? How do we get the car out of the garage and onto the road?

At this time, I am going to share with you a goal setting process. I encourage you, my friend, to take the time to go through this process. It will require some effort, but if you pursue it with excellence, you can change your life and happiness will come. It was Professor Kenneth Boulding who said, “If you chase excellence, happiness creeps up on you and touches your shoulder. If you chase mediocrity, you’re sure to catch up with it.”

THE GOAL SETTING PROCESS

STEP ONE: Balanced Goals

One of the keys to living successfully is that we have to live a balanced life. To do this, we must have balanced goals. Now, this goes against the grain of our society. How does our culture define success? Most of the time with fame and fortune. Let’s think of Hollywood for example. On the surface, it looks like Hollywood is succeeding. It’s full of famous people who have more money than they know what to do with. But are they happy? Would you trade your life for theirs? I sure wouldn’t. Many of them live sad and pitiful lives. Many of them have great success in one area of ​​life but fail in the whole of life. Many of them have unbalanced goals. Most people who have unbalanced lives are not happy people. What we are going to talk about is true success-Balanced Success.

In order to have balanced goals, we need to brainstorm and set goals in various areas of life. I think we need to set goals in at least four main areas. Those four areas are Personal Development Goals, Career and Financial Goals, Rest and Relaxation/Fun Goals, and our Dream Building Goals. You could even break these four areas down into subsets and diversify your goals even more. For our roadmap today, we are going to focus on these four areas to create our balanced lives filled with purpose. Let’s go for it.

A. Pray.

As a Christian, prayer is an extremely important part of my life. I believe that prayer should be the starting and ending point of any goal setting process. We need to seek the Lord’s perspective in our lives. We need to follow his will and his wishes for us when we set our goals. Ask him for his wisdom, knowledge and insight to set his good goals for his life. Thank him for helping him with this process.

B. Brainstorming

This is where we start to put our goals on paper. What it does is it puts the four main goal areas in four separate columns on a piece of paper. Then take each column separately and think about all the goals you would like to achieve in that area. Your personal development goals It would include things like how to improve yourself (training, reading books, seminars, fitness, eating right, etc.), your relationships, and your spiritual life.

Professional and financial goals It would include where you want to be in your career two years from now, five years from now, ten years from now. It would include how much money you want to earn this year. How much money are you going to invest and save (and how) and so on.

Your R&R/Fun Goals include where you want to go on vacation this year, what hobbies you want to participate in, cars you want to buy, houses you want to build, etc.

The last area is your Dream building goals. A Dream Builder is someone who gives back. Someone who makes a difference in someone else’s life. Someone who helps build another person’s dreams. The question here is how are you going to give back? Maybe you are serving at your church or giving time to a local charity. Maybe it’s visiting an inmate or reading to a blind man. How can you make a difference?

After you’ve brainstormed your goals, now is the time to narrow your focus. After your brainstorming session, you may have written 100 or more goals. Well, you can’t achieve them all today. What happens to a jack of all trades? That’s how it is. He becomes a master of nothing. What he has to do now is pick 3-4 targets in each column. These will become his work objectives. The objectives that you are going to pursue now.

STEP TWO: Realistic goals

“Realistic? What are we talking about realistic for? I thought we were going to dream big? I thought we were going to aim for the star? It’s the negative thinkers who say, ‘I’m not negative, I’m realistic!’ I don’t want to be like them. I want to be positive. I want to be a dreamer of big dreams that are put into action!” I agree. I also say that we have to be realistic. For example, what if I plan to play center for the Indiana Pacers in the NBA next year? What are the chances of reaching that goal? Be nice now. But you and I both know that at five foot ten inches tall and over 40, I’m not going to play center for the Pacers or any other team. It’s an unrealistic goal for me.

I think we have to aim for the stars. I think we have to dream big. But I think we also have to know our God-given strengths and abilities. When we take advantage of the gifts God has given us and allow Him to bring dreams of Him to birth in our lives, then we discover that the impossible truly is “possible with God.”

STEP THREE: Why?

One of the most important questions you can ask yourself during the goal setting process is the question “Why?” Why is this goal important to you? Why should you reach for it? You see, if you don’t have a big enough “why,” then you won’t have the motivation and persistence to go after it. And at that point, you need to achieve a new goal. If you have a big enough “why,” then you’re ready for step #4.

STEP FOUR: Set a target date

The next step is when do you want to achieve your goal? Set a target date for completion. It is not so important that you reach the target on time, but it is important to have something to aim for. A target date that will stretch you. A target date that will propel you towards your success. So what do you do if you miss the target? Re-aim and shoot again. That is the way to reach your goal. Keep shooting until…. Keep pushing until…. Keep chasing until… you reach your goal and your dreams come to life.

STEP FIVE: Set your goals

Each goal is broken down into smaller goals or action steps that I call goals. Achieving your goals step by step and eventually you reach all your goal. For each of your goals, ask yourself, “What’s the first thing I need to do to reach this goal? Second? Third?” Etc. Then commit to taking action on that first goal and within the next 24 hours. Immediately if possible. You have to take the car out of the garage and put it on the road. If not, procrastination could set in. Take action now!

Let me ask you a question, what do you do after reaching the first goal? You can say: “Act on the next goal.” Well, you’re moving too fast. The first thing you do after reaching the first goal is to evaluate. Are you still in progress? Has the action taken brought you closer to your main objective? If so, then celebrate the victory. After every goal and we have to celebrate what we have achieved. This creates motivation. You see, we are going to spend 90% of our time on the journey to the goal. We have to make that experience measurable (by setting goals) and enjoyable (by celebrating victories). Let me ask you another question. What do you do after you have reached the main goal? Celebrate big! Have a BIG victory party! What will you do next? Set a new goal and go for it! Dr. Robert H. Schuller has a concept called The peak-to-peak principle. The idea that when you reach the top of the mountain, the peak of your goal, you will have a broader view at that angle than ever before. You will be able to see (look out) the next big peak (goal) of your life. Success never leaves you where you started. You are stronger, more skilled, you have greater knowledge than before. Use your success and go to the next mountaintop!

In May of 1989, Mark E. Smith began to formulate a goal in his mind. You see, he would graduate from high school in a month. Now, that’s a big goal, but Mark had an even bigger goal. His goal was to cross the stage under her own power in his manual wheelchair. Mark had cerebral palsy. If he didn’t have to use his power wheelchair, he knew he could accomplish anything.

To prepare for graduation, Mark began using his manual wheelchair during the school day. It was hard. Walking around the school with a stack of books was exhausting. His classmates offered to help him. They would be more than happy to push you into class. But Mark refused. He knew that he had to do this alone.

Finally, the day had arrived. It was June 14, 1989, graduation day. Mark and his classmates looked so distinguished in their caps and gowns. Finally, it was Mark’s time. His name was called to get his diploma. As Mark slowly pushed himself to the front of the stage, he realized something. He was getting a standing ovation. It was like a stadium full of people cheering for an athlete. The goal was complete! Victory was near! Mark accepted his diploma and turned to his classmates. With the diploma held high above his head and the pride of achievement in his heart, Mark yelled, “I did it… I did it!” And you can do it too! Go for your goals… and live a great life!