How to set good goals

Andrew Carnegie, a 19th century industrialist who is often regarded as one of the richest people in American history, said the following about goals:

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”

Before you can achieve anything, you need to be decisive about what you want. Take the following 3 steps when setting daily, weekly or lifelong goals.

Identify:

What do you want and how badly do you want it? The Bible says to “count the cost” before going into action. While this is speaking about a relationship with Christ, it’s also holds true in natural circumstances. Identify what you want to achieve and then decide is it worth the cost in your time, energy, relationships etc…

Make sure your goal is challenging but also realistic. Set yourself up for success, not failure. Achieving one goal will inspire you to go for something better, and perhaps more challenging, later on.

I believe in involving God in everything I do. Be sure your goal is a worthy one and then pray for His help. “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Develop attainable action steps:

The best of goals are only dreams without a solid plan behind them. Now that you know where you’re going, figure out how you’re going to get there. When you tell the GPS on your phone where you want to go, it gives you clear, step-by-step directions on how to get there.

Take the same approach to setting goals. Make sure your steps are doable. If your goal is to save $200 in six months, be sure that you set a weekly savings amount that you can afford.
Review and revise:

Sometimes the best of plans don’t “go according to plan.” 🙂 Just like your GPS needs to reroute due to wrong turns, traffic updates etc… so we need to occasionally update our plans due to unforeseen circumstances. That’s okay. Just be sure that you’re still heading in the right direction and don’t lose sight of the end product.

Maybe it’s worth mentioning but, when your goal becomes reality, take some time to celebrate! Be sure to share with others what you’ve done, thank God for His help, and rejoice in what you’ve accomplished.

Thanks for reading. Now go and change your world! 🙂