Have you ever had trouble sticking with your goals?

Yeah, me too, but I came across an idea that might help you…

In The Missing Ingredient in Most Goals, Thomas Nelson Publisher, Michael Hyatt, advises that achieving your long-term goals may require more than just a clearly stated SMART goal. It may even require more than the detailed plans you made for achieving it.

You may need to remind yourself of your motives. Why was that goal was so important to you in the first place? Mr. Hyatt calls them internal motivations and advises that you write them down when you establish a new goal and review them when your passion to achieve wanes. In other words, when you know what you want to do, write down how you will do it, when you’ll do it, and don’t forget to define why you will do it.

Good, useful advice, I say.

Follow Up

So, this made me wonder if Mr. Hyatt had any plans for a follow up post on how to choose one’s goals wisely and pursue them with wise motives.

I commented to that effect on his blog, and his moderator, Justin Wise, replied to me as follows:

“Thanks for getting S.M.A.R.T. with Michael! I’m sure a post like the one you’re suggesting is in the works. Better yet, what if you wrote one yourself and posted a link to it in the comments for us all to enjoy? Thanks Lon!”

Okay, thanks for the invite Justin!

Here’s my average contribution to the conversation. (I’m sure Michael Hyatt’s will be above average if/when he posts a follow up.)

Consequences

At the very least, I think choosing goals wisely requires you to be honest about the fact that every choice has consequences. And some of them may be unintended. So, don’t try to fool yourself into thinking a goal is an island in your life. It’s not. It’s part of the web that is you, your job, hobbies, family, spiritual life, circle of influence and beyond. The bigger the goal; the bigger the impact to all areas of your life.

Limitations

Choices mean limitations.

You are a pie. You can slice up your life differently – more of this, less of that –  but you can’t add more pieces. Or, as Elisabeth Elliot has written somewhere, “Choices mean limitations.” In other words, every commitment you make to focus on something implies that you are willing to not focus, or even neglect, something else. Goals take time, effort and focus to achieve. So go ahead and mentally subtract that time, effort and focus from everything else in your life. Then, evaluate. You can’t do it all, have it all, be it all. (Welcome to my average life.) So choose your goals with the limitation principle in mind.

Relationships

Goals and their motives impact relationships. Yes, your wife may appreciate your bigger biceps and thinner waist. But, that won’t count for much if you’re so focused on sticking to your workout routine that you neglect what’s important to her: like, her goals, for instance. Goals aren’t just about you. They’re about you in relationship to others. Be careful not to sacrifice a someone to chase a something.

Numbers

Two significant and simultaneous goals are doable. Three is tough. Four is too many. Five is way too many. No one can focus on that many big heavy plates in the air without help. Something will crash. But, “I have so much to work on!” Don’t we all? – then, try staggering your goals. Believe it or not, some things can wait.

Or, if you must have multiple, simultaneous goals, prioritize them. Choose which are big plates (primary) and little plates (secondary). Primary goals should get more of your time and focus–and fewer excuses. Or, try assigning goals to different arenas of your life. I try to have one goal  (big plate or little plate) per year for each arena of life that matters to me: my spiritual growth, relationship with my wife and kids, professional life, intellectual growth, fitness, hobbies, and finances.

Significance

Remember this: Every goal has a spiritual and moral dimension. Why? – because it comes from a motive. If there is a God (I believe there is) Who has a plan for our lives (the most significant parts of which He reveals in the Bible), then our goals and especially our motives must be seen in light of His larger plan for us. What we plan to achieve and why we want to achieve it is inevitably connected, in a big or small way, to the fact that we live our lives before Him. And thus, our goals and our motives have long-term spiritual significance.

Questions

I think this raises two important questions.

First, “How can I understand God’s plan for my life?” And second, “How can I choose wise goals with wise motives that reflect God’s plan for me?”

Answers

The quick answer to the first question is this: Study the Bible – carefully, regularly, humbly with help from wise teachers. Over time, we will gain wisdom.

The answer to the second is: Pray – regularly, humbly, trusting that God is eager to instruct those who readily confess their foolishness. Over time, we will see wise motives driving our goals more and more.

Wisdom

But ultimately, Jesus is the wisdom God offers to us and for us. In Him, we see a wise man whose goals and motives perfectly aligned with God’s plan. By comparison, we see in ourselves wrong motives, foolish choices, and self-focused goals. But again, in Jesus, we see that perfectly wise life lived, and offered up on the cross, to God and for us. By this sacrifice, God promises that in Christ Jesus our frequent foolishness is forgiven, and a new heart (motives) is created which desires (chooses) goals that reflect His plan for us.

So, ultimately how can we choose wise goals wisely?

Through. Christ. Alone.

What are your thoughts about how to choose goals wisely?

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