To Goal or Not to Goal

Okay, it’s February, a little late normally to be talking about goals. But then again, I’m not much for rules . . . And lately I’ve been thinking a lot about goals. I normally make goals for myself, both short term and long term. But this year I haven’t been real motivated to get any done. Usually my short to medium term goals go on a white board above my desk. But up until a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t even know where that whiteboard was after our move. Now, I need to find the whiteboard cleaner so I can clean it and then figure out what I want to put up there. Maybe that should be my first goal.

I like this blog entry from Thomas Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt on goal setting. It’s worth perusing if you’re interested in the topic. The points he makes that have worked for me are: reward yourself for hitting your goals, write them down, keep them limited, and keep them specific. I love this in particular.

I know my limitations and am very much aware that I can’t accomplish what I believe I am supposed to do without God’s help. (If you can accomplish an objective without God’s help, you’re not thinking big enough.)

Here's why I like goals. It's hard to hit something you're not aiming at. In fact, it rarely happens. Plus, it helps you make decisions on where you spend your time, talent, and resources. If you want to write a best-seller but you spend all your time painting, something isn't adding up.

That ties in a lot with what I've been thinking lately about who God designed me to be. It's not necessarily what other people think I've been designed to be. So as a result, I'm thinking of starting a “To NOT do” list. I think I first heard of this idea from Andy Stanley's The Next Generation Leader. And I think Michael Hyatt brought it up recently on his blog, but I can't be sure about much if I have to rely on my memory. Anyhow, they are things I’m not going to do anymore. This does fit in nicely with goals, because to achieve some goals you have to give some stuff up. While I’d love to put house cleaning on my “To NOT do” list, I think that may have to wait awhile. But I am going to be delegating more chores to my kids. I am not going to be guilted into doing things that don’t apply to my goals anymore. And I’m going to give up a few activities that don’t relate to my goals.

As soon as I find that whiteboard cleaner.

So anyone want to share their goals? Or their To NOT do list?