I have noticed that many people are reluctant to set goals. The fact is, I can be reluctant myself in this area. Goals seem so “concrete”, so “un-movable”. I like flexibility and spontaneity, and setting goals and budgets just seems to kill that.
But, the old axiom says, “if you plan for nothing, you will hit it every time.” I have found this to be true in my own life.
What do you do if you just can’t come up with goals for your life? Well, I think the easiest thing to do is: first, recognize that you need to have some goals, whether you like it or not. Then, you need to set smaller goals to get used to the water. Make a goal for this hour or for this day or week. Don’t over-think the issue. An example of an hour-goal might be to read a chapter of Proverbs and pick one or two really poignant verses. It could be to clean up your living area or desk. It could be to go out and get some exercise. See, you don’t really need to have lofty goals to have goals. They can be simple, straightforward steps in your life.
Once you get used to making small goals, you can start expanding them to larger and longer goals, maybe monthly or even yearly goals. A monthly goal might be to keep your area clean for a month or to read (or listen to) a non-fiction book. A yearly goal might be to get into shape or to lose weight or to start schooling towards your career.
One of the most important parts of making goals is to be ruthless about checking up on your progress. Don’t make excuses for not getting it done; just do it. Keep a chart that shows your progress towards the goal. Every day ask yourself, “How have I progressed towards the goal today?”.
In my years on this earth I have learned a lesson about goals; the lesson is that anything you track gets better. This means that if I place my body weight on a chart (using Excel) I will change my behavior to make the chart go the direction I want it to. If I place my assets on a chart, I will try to make that chart get better and better. I find that this is a natural phenomenon that seems to apply to everyone.
As I have said, today is the day you start making yourself into who you want to be. Set that small goal. Don’t worry about the big ones yet. Just take a small step towards your goal. You will feel better and you will be amazed at the progress you make!
By Dave Tucker
Dave Tucker is a businessman who tries to do as little as possible. Having been a Missionary Kid in Mexico, then a missionary and now a businessman, he used Proverbs to figure out how to do business and now owns 3 companies that write software, maintain landscaping and invest in real estate. He and his wife, Karin, are on the board of El Hogar Educador, a Home School support organization for Latin America. They travel to Mexico and do conferences as well as speak at various organizations, including Christian Business associations. Dave loves mentoring and helping young men that are serious about maturing and becoming responsible adults. You can reach him at: dave@clip.com
“L’ultima partitella,” © 2007 Cristiano Corsini, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.
