75% of people fail to reach their New Year’s resolution by the end of January. Why? Because they look at the finish line rather than the present day. When setting a goal ask yourself the question, “Can I do it for a day?” Almost anyone can do something for a day. It’s all about stacking up wins one day at a time–day by day. Goals typically fail when we look too far down the road. Do it for a day and you’ve got a win under your belt. Do it for two days and you’re on a winning streak. Here are 5 components of setting a goal:
1. Identify the goal
After winning his second MVP and Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes was asked if he’s reached the pinnacle of success as an NFL Quarterback. His answer— “no, I feel like I can get so much better.” I find that answer fascinating, but not surprising. Every athlete loves the accolades and stats, but their ultimate goal is becoming better than they were before. That’s why the goals we set are important, goals help us to improve and better ourselves.
One of my favorite proverbs is proverbs 29:18, “without a vision the people perish.” That word “vision” is easily interchangeable with the word “goal.” Without goals we aren’t bettering ourselves, and might I even add, we aren’t reaching the full potential God intended for us. My wife Kim and I have several goals together. It’s one of the many things I appreciate about our marriage. The goals and vision we have for our family keep us bonded. It's difficult to break up a team that’s tethered to a vision bigger than themselves. I think everyone should have a goal of some sort, whatever it is, set a goal, any goal.
2. Write it down
Someone once said, “the shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.” There is something about writing things down. The prophet Habakkuk knew this all too well. When God gave Habakkuk a vision He told him to ”write down this message! record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces it may read it easily” (Habakkuk 2:2). When the creator and judge of the universe tells you to write down a vision, you write it!
Recently, I’ve been obsessed with budgeting. But before budgeting, everything was in my head. Imagine doing addition and subtraction with every paycheck and expenses in your head. That’s a recipe for a headache, you inevitably miss something! So Kim and I formulated a written budget to get us to those financial goals. Writing down your goals not only helps you remember the goal, but it also makes it visible and plain.
3. Make it measurable and specific
Ask any corporation what drives their business decisions and most of them will say data. In order to thrive, businesses rely on metrics that are measurable. Without data there is no way to measure success. The same goes for our goals. Our goals need to be measurable. If the goal is, I want to eat healthier. Okay. How will you get there? What habits do you need to set in place? Maybe saying, “I want to eat healthier so I will cook at home 6x a week and each meal will have vegetables.” Another example is, I want to read more books this year. Okay. How many books? This year I have a personal goal of reading 12 books. This means I have to read 1 book a month in order to reach that goal by December 2024. Quantify and give specific details to the goal. A goal without a metric and details becomes a dream.
4. Tell someone
You want to know what’s harder than setting a goal? Telling someone about the goal because now it’s out there! Accountability is a powerful thing. One of the pillars of Christianity is community. This theme is dispersed throughout the Bible. No scripture brings this theme home more than Paul’s famous analogy of the church as the body. The body only functions properly when it works well together, “If one member suffers, everyone suffers with it. If a member is honored, all rejoice with it“ (1 Corinthians 12:26). It’s practically impossible to walk the Christian faith alone. Christianity requires a community of other believers to lift each other and encourage one another during the highs and the lows. Our goals require a witness. Share your goal with someone that will keep you accountable. Remember that African Proverb– If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far, go together.
5. It has to be YOUR goal
We live in a time where social media makes it easier to compare ourselves to everyone else. So we might set our goals based on other people’s feeds and stories. I’ll be the first to raise my hand to say I am guilty of this. I think the apostle Peter would be the second. In John 21, Peter asks Jesus about a certain disciple's fate. Jesus responds by saying, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” In other words, mind your business Peter! You just focus on following me. I’d like to think this is what Jesus meant. Focus on your goals and not theirs. God is big enough to bless the both of us.
When thinking about yours goals this year, here are 7 great areas to set goals around:
Spiritual
Financial
Career
Intellectual
Family
Fitness
Social
One of the most rewarding parts of meeting a goal is the journey it takes to get there. I love meeting my goals but I fall more in love with the grind, grit and sacrifice it took to get there. This is important because we discover something innate about ourselves that we didn't know was there. It's that untapped potential God put in us when He knitted us in our mother’s womb. The goal is great, but who we become in the process is even greater.
Thank you so much Kim and Joel Kimpela