How to accomplish your goals

FIRST: Why is it Important to have Goals?

• Goals give you purpose and direction: "So then I run, not as if I were uncertain. And so I fight, not as one who beats the air. But I buffet my body, and lead it captive, lest proclaiming to others I myself might be rejected." (1 Corinthians 9:26)

• Goals give you strength and hope: "What is my strength, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should be patient?" (Job 6:11 ). I do not have the strength to endure. I do not have a goal that encourages me to carry on.

• Goals keep you away from evil: "Let your eyes look right on, and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right hand nor to the left; remove your foot from evil." (Proverbs 4:25-27).

Question: "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4). What do you think the bible is really saying?

SECOND: What Goals God wants you to Seek?

• You should seek first the Kingdom of God: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6: 33).

• Follow your dreams and seek every good work: "God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that in everything, always having all self-sufficiency, you may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).

• Your goal should please and bring glory to God: "Therefore we are also laboring to be well-pleasing to Him, whether at home or away from home." (2 Corinthians 5:9). "Yea, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we awaited You; for Your name and for Your memory is the desire of our soul." (Isaiah 26:8).

• Your goal should foster harmony and love with other Christians: "So then let us pursue the things of peace, and the things for building up one another." (Romans 14:19. "Follow after charity and desire spiritual things, but rather that you may prophesy." (1 Corinthians 14:1).

THIRD: Be Smart About It!

Most people never get the work done because they do not know how to set up their goals. You need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.

• Specific: Do not simply say: "I want to lose weight", say, "I want to lose ten pounds in the next three months".

• Measurable: Measure your goals by keeping a journal, a checklist, a spreadsheet. For goals that involve exercise, you measure your progress with monthly statements.

• Attainable: Your goal must be reachable. Do not have a goal of paying off all your debt in one year when your debt is more than your annual salary.

• Realistic: You need to know your health, physical and mental abilities … etc.

• Timely: Give yourself deadlines by which to accomplish your goals. You need to divide your big goal into intermediate goals to keep you on track.

FOURTH: How to Accomplish Your Goals?

1. Be committed: You need commitment when times are tough, when you feel alone or rejected, or when circumstances look bad. It is not easy to be committed. Sometimes, you might feel like giving up, but if you are committed to the work you are doing, you will resist the temptation and keep pursuing your dreams. Thomas Edison says "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
2. Be determined: The prophet Samuel in the Old Testament said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 7:3) To determine means to set your mind on a course of action. This kind of commitment means that you don’t back out, but you work toward the goal you have set. If you have made a decision to follow God and reach your goals, don’t allow excuses, distractions, or second thoughts to deter you from your goal. Just before his passion begins the bible says about Jesus that Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51). Although Jesus knew he would face persecution and death in Jerusalem, he was determined to go there. That kind of resolve should characterize our life too. When God gives us a course of action, we must move steadily toward our destination, no matter what potential hazards await us there.
3. Do not take any shortcuts: God knows the best way for you. So, you do not need take the shortcuts. Speaking about the flee from Egypt, the Bible says: "And it happened, when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines although that was near. For God said, Lest the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people around, by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the sons of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt." (Exodus 13: 17-18). So, you do not need to complain or resist if God does not lead through the shortest path to your goals because he knows the safest and best route for us. Proverbs 14: 12 make it clear: "There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end of it is the ways of death." (Proverbs 14:12). Your need to follow God's way willingly.
4. Wait for the Lord: The bible is so clear about this: "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way" (Psalm 37:34). Waiting for the Lord means being patient waiting for His will to be done at the right time. It means allowing Him to control the events of your life. It also means spending time in prayer with him, meditating on His word, and keeping Him at the centre of our lives. "but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
   

Question: what are the first three priorities in your life? Have you set up goals to accomplish them?

source: http://syriacbiblestudy.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-accomplish-your-goals.html