I
got a question from a reader about goal setting, so here are some ideas that
may help. They are adapted from Franklin Covey, John Maxwell, Andy Stanley,
Steven Barnes, and a number of business CDs not available to the general public,
plus some of my own thinking on the topic.
One
general note: as you are going through the entire goal setting process, you
should also try to find someone who can act as a confidante or mentor to help
you work through the steps. We frequently find ourselves in mental ruts that we
cannot break out of. A fresh perspective can be very helpful to get you to
think outside the box and find new options, opportunities, or directions.
Before
setting any goals, it is important to identify your core values. This isn’t as
easy as it sounds, because we all have things we know in our minds we should value, but they may not be the
things that really matter to us in our heart of hearts. I recommend blocking a
full hour undisturbed, and sitting down with a pen and paper (NOT a computer!),
and start writing down the things you value.
Once
you think you’re done, you’ll have gotten through the more superficial layer.
Dig deeper: what are the things you are most proud of? Of all the things you’ve
done, what gives you the greatest satisfaction? When your mind wanders, where
does it habitually go? If you discovered you were going to die tonight, what
things would you most regret either doing or leaving undone? Who or what would
you be willing to go to the mat over or to risk your life for? If these last
questions seem overly dramatic, you don’t understand core values. They are the
things that matter the most to you, the things that matter more than you do. Fear
of loss is a much greater motivator than hope of gain, so understanding those
fears is an important clue to what you truly value.
Once
you have that done, think about your long term dreams. If you could design your
own life, what would it look like? To help with this, think about it in terms
of categories: relationships with God and with important people in your life;
career; and personal life, including health, personal growth, experiences, and
lifestyle. What would you do if time and money were no object? Where would you
go? Who would you help? What would you learn? Where would you live? What
charities would you support? If these are really the things you want long term,
they should connect directly back to your core values. Understanding this connection
can provide powerful motivation for you to develop a plan to turn those dreams
into a vision and direction for your life.
If
you are a Christian, what we’re really exploring here is your sense of calling
and understanding what it is God made you to be and to do to fulfill your part
of His plan for the world.
At
this point, you might consider drafting mission and vision statements for your
life. The vision statement talks about your purpose, values, and direction;
it’s the big picture of where you believe your life should be heading. The
mission statement is an overview of how you’re going to get there. It addresses
the question, “what do I do,” while the vision statement addresses, “why am I
here,” or even “who am I.”
These
are the steps that look at the big picture. They may seem rather abstract, but
if you want to put together goals that will help you long term, you need this big
picture to show you where you want to go. It will also pay to revisit these
issues annually to determine if they do in fact reflect your values and your
growth. You may find your priorities shifting or clarifying, and you want to be
able to use that to adjust what you’re doing.
Next,
we need to get to some more specific, rubber meets the road issues. List all of
the roles you have. For example, I am a husband, a father, a college professor,
a free lance writer and teacher, an entrepreneur, …. Once you have the list,
ask yourselves which are nonnegotiable, which line up most closely with your
values, and which are moving you in the direction of your vision. Hopefully
there will be some overlap. These are the roles you need to concentrate on the
most. If your current job doesn’t make the list, you need to start thinking
about how to transition into something that does.
I
would suggest that the most important roles to think about are your
relationship with God, your relationship with your family, your relationship
with your community, your professional life, and your personal growth. These
are key areas for everyone, though the specific details will vary from person
to person.
In
each of these areas, ask yourself where you would like to be in a year: what will
your relationship with God, your family, and your friends look like? Where
would you like to be professionally? What do you want to learn or do for your
own personal development? (I would also suggest that you think about these same
areas five and ten years from now, though for most people that’s too much of a
stretch. If you can do it, great; if not, stick with the one year time frame
this time around.)
Your
image of where you would like to be a year from now is your goal in each of
these areas. Find a phrase that encapsulates the idea, and write it down with a
date you want to accomplish it. You will be reviewing (and ideally rewriting)
this goal daily.
Last
step: identify actions that you can take daily that will move you toward your
goals. Beware of dramatic changes or silver bullets: they rarely work. Your
life is made from your daily habits, so if you want to accomplish your goals,
you need to do this through developing new habits. Small, easy steps are best,
without trying to do too many things at once. It takes 21 days to develop a
habit, so I suggest the following approach:
- Identify the most
important step you can take daily for each of your goals. (In some cases,
these might be weekly, such as getting to the gym three times a week if
you want to get into shape, but you get the idea.)
- Put these steps into
your routine and stick with them for a month. Write and review your goals
and the steps daily to keep you on track.
- At the end of the
month, assess whether each step has become a habit. If it hasn’t, do it
for another month. If it has, ask if you’re making satisfactory progress
toward your goal, then determine if you simply want to keep with that
habit or add a new one for the next month.
- Ultimately, you’re
looking to reach what John Maxwell calls the Rule of 5: no matter how big
the goal, if you do 5 key actions toward it every day, you are all but
guaranteed to reach it eventually.
And
that’s it. It’s a longer process than you may have wanted, but the early steps,
which are in many ways the most difficult, are actually the most important and
lay the foundation for everything else. I’ve adapted this from lots of other
people, and you may decide to modify it for yourself, but the basic approach is
solid and will help you clarify, set, and meet meaningful goals for your life.
A
few books to help you along the way:
- John C. Maxwell, Put Your Dream to the Test, Today Matters, and others
- Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge
- Andy Stanley, Visioneering
Franklin
Covey has some excellent resources as well.
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