Here are my goals for 2014. I place them in a hierarchy. You may be shocked that I place myself (mind and body) before my wife and my children. This is counter-intuitive, but I have learned (the hard way) that if I am sick/tired/depressed/frustrated/discouraged I cannot serve my wife and children. Most books about goal-making will encourage you to do the same.

I think it comes down to Mark 12:30-31:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

Notice that God is first. Then notice that you must love your neighbor as yourself. This implies that care is taken for self so that you can care for others. If I eat poorly, sleep only 2 hours, gain 15 pounds of fat for the sake of helping people, I’m going to be a wreck – they probably won’t want my help!

So it’s important to care for yourself so that your care even more for your family, friends, and vocation in life. Think of it like this, if a fireman doesn’t workout and train, he can’t save lives.

There it is. Some of you may be thinking: “Dang! Why pile it on? Why not just accept what God wills?”

My answer: I straight up believe that’s not the biblical way to live. It’s not what I discover in the Proverbs.

I think we must pray every day and then pursue the goals that God reveals to us. That’s what my list is. We must prepare and plan. That’s how we turn 5 talents into 10 talents:

And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above. His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Mt 25:20-21)

God is giving you talents for 2014.

Don’t bury them!

Make a plan! Now!

I get a lot of things done and I do it with goals. It’s what Thomas Aquinas calls “teleology.” I call it “teleological living” (hey, that’s a book idea!).

From past experience, I usually attain only 75% of my goals. I’d like to move that number up to 85% in 2014. That means that there are things on the list above that may not happen. I accept that. Still, I plan accordingly. I think keeping a better calendar will help bump that percentage up.

Part of making future goals is getting closure with past successful goals and past failed goals. It’s like doing your taxes. You look at how the year went. What you made. What you lost. You can never move forward if you don’t accept the past and then kiss it goodbye. If goals don’t get you excited, you’re doing it wrong.

I’ve recently produced 2 podcasts on Making Goals. If you want my philosophy on goals, please check them out.

You’ll find them in Episode 16 (which is also about Our Lady of Guadalupe) and in Episode 18 (also about how failed goals can make us bitter and how to find closure with them).

You can subscribe to my podcast at iTunes by clicking here. The podcast has 94 positive 5 star reviews. You won’t be disappointed. Like almost everything that I write and create, it is FREE. I just want you to be blessed and grow in Christ.

The post Taylor’s Goals for 2014 appeared first on Taylor Marshall.

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