Part 3: Goal Setting
How Do You Get There?

Goal setting workshops are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Go to any book store and look at all the books that teach people exactly how to get where they wish to go, how to attain their desired outcome. Now, think of all the people that you know who have attended the workshops or read the books yet rarely attain their desired outcomes. What is going on here?

What is going on is the age-old tension between knowledge and action. For some reason, we humans are constantly tempted to believe that merely because we have mapped out where we want to go or what we should do that we actually are following the map.

Christians are not immune to this problem. How often do we think that because we can recite the great Biblical passages of the faith that we are actually living them, only to have certain circumstances arise that expose our lack of obedient action? Knowledge that leads to and supports action is what leads to the abundant life Christ promised (John 10:10). Knowledge without action leads to deception and, worse, arrogance.

Goals are the steps you need to take so that you arrive at the destination of your desired outcome. It's one thing to know where you wish to go; it is another to know how you are going to get there.

The following steps are the big chunks of the process through which I take those whom I work with. These steps are not original and they are not written on stone tablets. My experience is that almost any goal-setting strategy will work effectively, if the individual actually follows the steps he or she maps out. Whether it is the strategies of Steve Covey, Tony Robbins, Carmine Baffa or Allan Somersall the map must actually be followed to be effective.

Establish your outcome and state it in positive terms:

How many times have you ever asked someone what he or she wanted out of life and they responded by telling you what they did not want? "I want to stop smoking" rather than "I want ever increasing health." Running toward a positive vision is far more empowering than running away from an unwanted problem. Where do you wish to be in every context of life 5, 10, 15 and 20 years from the present?

What do you want in the area of your finances? Is your answer, "Abundance"? What does that mean to you? How will "abundance" look in 10 or 20 years? In other words, what will you have accomplished with these finances? What sort of experiences will you have purchased? What sort of possessions will you be managing? How will you have blessed your church or community with this abundance?

Don't simply do this in regard to your finances but write out what you desire in the area of your relationships, your spiritual life, your hobbies, your contributions to the world around you and elsewhere.

I suggest that you gather a support group with whom you can share your dreams and desires.

This team can consist of family members, friends or spiritual advisors but it should be people whom are every bit as strong and talented and gifted as you are. Why? Because you want people whose input you can respect. Also, because of the multiple perspectives and talents of these people, your perspective can be greatly broadened and nuanced in ways that will greatly support your quest.

Play the movie out to the end:

Pretend to be watching the movie of your life as it plays out for the next 20 years. See it arriving at that point where you actually are experiencing your outcomes. Now ask yourself these questions as you look at the climax of this point of your life. What does it look like? What sounds do I hear? Are there any smells that are associated with the attaining of this outcome? What will I be feeling, experiencing? Be as detailed as possible.

So many people have dreams that are so fuzzy that they do not motivate them. The more content we can pack into our dreams, the more motivated we will be.

One of the fascinating things that often will take place at this point is the re-evaluation of our stated outcome. When we play the movie out we are surprised to see that circumstances are not what we had assumed. "This is not what I really want." For example, we see that, while we arrived at the desired outcome, our families are no where to be seen. What we then need to do is go back and rewrite the script so that the movie ends differently!

Now for the reality check:

What are your assets and liabilities? What are your strengths and present limitations? If you want to be a writer but have poor grammar, this is your present "reality." It is a limitation that needs to be dealt with. If you wish to build a school and have twelve dedicated, skilled and gifted teachers ready to join you, this is an asset. If you as yet have raised no money, this is a limitation. Both are realities that need to be addressed as you map out where you want to go.

In light of the above realities, what are the steps you need to take in order to attain your desired outcome?

If you wish to build a school what would be your first steps? Well, it depends somewhat on your assets and liabilities. If you have a clearly mapped out plan for where you want the school, what educational philosophy it will be built upon, how many teachers you will need but have no money, then one of the first steps is find someone who is an expert at raising funds. If you haven't even decided on a philosophy yet, that may be one of the first steps you need to consider. And as you gradually decide what steps need to be taken and when, you should constantly ask yourself: exactly how will this move me toward my desired outcome?

Committing to time frames:

At what date, at what time of the day, will each step need to be completed? Time frames keep us from allowing things to fall through the cracks and to avoid procrastination. It is quite easy to be lulled into a false sense of movement when nothing is actually happening. Simply because you wrote all the steps out doesn't mean that you are actively following the steps. Speaking of time, if you don't want to waste a lot of time, do not skip the next step.

Preemptive strikes on all potential obstacles to your attaining your desired outcome:

Many obstacles will have already been dealt with by now. However, I have found that if there is not a specific step whereby we sit down and actually consider all the many obstacles and challenges that may come up we are often waylaid by the "unforeseen."

A spouse who is yet to be in agreement with your stated outcomes is a potential obstacle! Further, this obstacle can become increasingly distracting if it is not taken care of early on in the process. Usually, if we would have included our significant others in the very beginning of the process they have been totally supportive. However, what usually happens is that we hand over the completed map and state with great finality, "This is where I am headed…what do you think?"

Other obstacles can be a lack of education or your present amount of debt. Focus your energy on foreseeing and dealing with as many potential obstacles as possible at the very beginning of this process.

Commit:

If you have a support group (if not, then some good friends will suffice), lay the completed plans out before them with all of the time frames and commit to following through with the process. Ask them to hold you accountable. That's correct: we need people who will contact us and, in a positive manner, ask how things are going. Are the time frames being met? Are you progressing toward your outcome?

Steps are not Laws:

Be flexible. If you see that your map-the goals you have made to get to your outcome-is not moving you in the direction of your outcome, adjust accordingly. For example, sometimes you discover that a time frame was not realistic.

Change it. The destination is what matters most.

It does not matter how old you are, how many failures you have experienced or how much baggage you are carrying. You can change your life right now by committing to making your life a masterpiece that gives glory to God. Why sit around another minute simply taking up space and oxygen? Make your life count. Give your energy to creating a legacy.