We are about to step into a new season, a new year and most people will be making new resolutions. I have stopped making resolutions because l decided to live In purpose. This is not to say that making resolutions is a bad thing, I believe and encourage people to do what works for them. However, I have noticed that in whatever people set out to do, most of the time their desires are not fulfilled. In some cases, people’s lives change, within the period of working on their resolutions and their plans come to nothing. It could be down to not having a strategy on how their desire will be Implemented, resources or even procrastination, complacency, laziness takes the better of them.
While determination, self-discipline and affirmations are good to accomplish your resolutions and dreams, I think it’s important to be present in your current situation (You can read the article I wrote on Intentionally being present for the next season), as well as setting effective achievable goals.
Luke 14:28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
Goal Setting
Goal setting is a process of identifying something you want to accomplish then establishing measurable objectives and time frames to help you achieve it.
We need to remember that goal setting can look differently depending on an individual’s lifestyle, values, and definitions of success. Your goals are unique to you and don’t need to look like someones.
You can set goals for any area of your life, financial, freedom, education, health, relationship, ministry, self-development, weight loss and weight gain, marriage, the list is endless.
Goal setting involves developing an action plan to motivate, guide, remove overwhelm and chunk down something huge into smaller sections.
Goal setting is more than having a plan on paper, you will find that it becomes a component of personal development, furthermore, it helps you perform better, have a committed thought, and helps you with an outcome. Your attention is narrowed so much that you only participate in the activities that are necessary to accomplish it. Setting goals help you put the effort into what you are working on and there are fewer chances of giving up, you become persistent and work through a setback. When you have goals in place it is easy for you to know where to start from rather than be clouded by overwhelm. In addition, goals help you change behaviour, there is a demand for you to change your habits to accomplish the goal. If you were waking up at 7 am you can adjust to waking up at 6 am so that there is more time to work on it.
Setting Achievable Goals
It is important to set realistic achievable goals. Sometimes people do not do anything because they set up goals that are too huge and do not give themselves enough time. In the end, their hope is deferred, and they lose interest or motivation. Ambition is not enough if it is not channelled well. Being realistic with what you are doing can help you avoid disappointment.
Depending on what type of goal you want to set, take time to find out what you really want and truthfully answer some questions.
Determine the goal
- What do you want for your life?
- What do you want for your career?
- What do you want for your education/Self-development?
- What weight do you want to be?
- What do you want for your finances?
- What do you want for your family/marriage?
Break the big goal into smaller specific goals.
Within that big goal begin to make smaller goals that can be achieved in a certain time frame. This will help you achieve your goal with discipline. Having an open time frame that has no cut-off point will only cause you to procrastinate, postpone things until it becomes a burden. Your time frame should be reasonable. You can have short, medium and long-term goals i.e. 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3years, 5 years. In the short-term goals also break it down and have goals within, i.e., monthly, weekly and daily goals.
I personally set daily and hourly goals. Each night before I sleep, I write in my to-do diary what I need to do the next day. All my hours are accounted for and l leave room for some emergencies. This helps me focus and to do more in a day. My days are intentionally structured, I also include, shower times, cooking times and I have disciplined myself not to just take phone calls or reply to messages, there is an allocated time on my schedule for that. The only people or phone calls I keep open are for my son, parents, and those I will be working with on projects or business. All my social media groups and interactions are on the schedule as well.
Vision and Purpose.
It is important to do what is in Gods will for your life and something you absolutely enjoy. I live in purpose, so my goals ought to go with my purpose. To keep motivated and encouraged when you want to accomplish your goal, one thing l have discovered is that its important to have a vision and purpose.
Vision is the ability to think about or plan with imagination or wisdom and purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
A vision is a mental or heart picture of the future you desire and it’s way more than a goal, it is an embodiment of our hopes and dreams in a particular area. It is the picture of what has not yet happened but what the future may hold.
Having a vision means you will have a clear sense of purpose than simply setting goals or working towards the goal. A vision is driven by passion and dreams, it inspires you and provides a focal point for your goal setting and planning.
Your vision is your WHY.
1. Why do you want to accomplish that goal?
2. What happens when you get there?
3. How does your life change?
4. What benefits do you have or who benefits
If you want to prosper and progress in your goal, get a vision for it, having a vision for the goal will help you not to give up, you will work purposefully, you will experience fulfilment, it pushes, leads motivates, and encourages you when the going gets tough. Moreover, because purpose drives you and not ambition you will accomplish the goals with the right attitude and for the right reason.
Prosper My Soul
Angeline Nyabepu