Setting Goals that Matter – TPW285

Setting goals that matter starts with knowing what's most important to you. (See below for a couple free printables!)

Let's talk about setting goals.

As we approach the end of the first quarter of this year, I felt it's a good time to review some things about setting (and achieving) meaningful goals.

Setting Goals that Matter

We're talking about setting goals that MATTER, creating goals based on guiding principles & long-term objectives.

The journey from where we are to where we want to be is made one step at a time. And part of that journey is creating a plan, a road map, breaking down the big objectives into small, achievable pieces

Identify what matters to you

I believe the starting point for setting goals is taking the time to think through our commitments, dreams, and values, and to establish priorities firmly in our minds. This in turn will help us make smart choices about how we use our time and resources, so we accomplish the things that are most important to us and become truly productive.

We all have to choose among many options for how our time and resources are used. Without some guiding principles to base our choices on, we can’t be sure we’ll accomplish the things that matter to us. Those guiding principles come from truly understanding what our priorities are.

So set aside some time when you can be quiet and undisturbed. Schedule it, sit down with your calendar, and your favorite beverage, and think through the following questions.

* What are the roles you play in life?

Wife, mother, Christian, employee or boss, parent, citizen. List them all, and don’t forget to include “Self”.

* Prioritize these areas of your life.

By that, I do not mean rank them in order of importance. For example, if you’re a person of faith, your relationship with God probably comes first. After that maintaining your mental and physical health is a priority (because you’re no good to anybody else if you’re falling apart physically, mentally, or emotionally. Perhaps your spouse and children, your career and/or ministry, your friends and extended family, are your next priority. There’s no one-size-fits-all list here. It should be a matter of careful thought and prayer.

* For each of those roles, answer this question: “What kind of _______ do I want to be?”

Another way of looking at this is think of the people you “answer to” in each role and ask yourself, “How do I want that person to remember me when I’m gone?” Think about what each relationship or role would look like if you were doing things like you want to. Be honest with yourself. Then realistically evaluate where you are today, and write down an action item or two to help move you in the direction of that ideal.

* Keep these priorities and action steps somewhere handy

Review them regularly, and refer to them when you’re offered an opportunity to do something. Ask yourself: Does this fit into my priorities, into my vision for where I want my life to go? If no, then maybe pass on that opportunity and leave it to someone for whom it’s a better fit.

Use this Vision-Casting Worksheet as you journal about your priorities and values.

The reason I talk about this in a goal-setting episode is because I don't think it's possible to set truly meaningful goals unless we know what matters most to us, and a lot of us do not take the time to think about that because we're busy doing and responding before we have a chance to think about whether what we're doing is reflective of what matters to us. Unless we know what matters to us, it's hard to judge how to spend our time.