We all have goals, whether we realize it or not. It's the people who have clearly defined goals who accomplish the most. So how do you set clearly defined goals?

 

First, think about what it is you want to accomplish and how you will do it.  Ted Engstrom, past President of World Vision and well-known Time Management speaker, says to think about what you want to accomplish as your purpose, or higher goal, and then plan how to accomplish it with specific goals.  Keep your goals specific and measureable.   For example, if your purpose or higher goal is to be healthier, your specific goal might be to walk one hour three times a week for the entire month of August.  It's difficult to measure if you are healthier or not.  But at the end of April you can tell if you met your specific goal:  Did you walk three times a week for one hour?  I'll bet you'll feel better!

 

It's easy to say "I want to keep a cleaner house" or "I want to grow spiritually."   But how to you plan to accomplish that?  Set goals.  "I will dust one room a day and vacuum every Friday"-these are specific goals to help you have a cleaner house.  Goals to help you grow spiritually might be:  "I will spend 15 minutes a day praying and reading the Bible each day in August."  Engstrom advises that you give yourself a deadline so that you can evaluate whether or not you are meeting your goal.  If you are, congratulations!  If not, what could you revise to help you meet your goal?  Or you might find you can handle a more difficult challenge.  Redefine your goals. 

 

Take time to evaluate what you want to accomplish and set some measurable goals.  You'll find that you'll accomplish more because you'll be more focused in what you do.  And think how good you'll feel when you can look back and see that you have accomplished the goals you've set!