Did you know if you are a goal setter you are more likely to be successful then if you aren’t? While we all know the need for and value of setting goals, few people actually practice setting goals. According to some studies, only ten percent of Americans take the time to write out their goals. Of you are a goal setter, you are in the top ten percent of the American population.
Goals are important because they give direction to your life. They give you something to aim at. Something to live for. They are what give legs to dreams. Jim Tenney said, “The primary purpose of goal setting is to pull change in the direction you have chosen—one which fits your expertise and overall plan.”
John R. Noe said, “Losers always concentrate on activities, but high achievers concentrate on planning and making every moment count in their efforts to reach progressively higher goals.” As John Condray writes, happiness, wealth and success are by-products of goal setting, they cannot be the goal themselves.”
As Christian’s it is important that we set goals in life in line with God’s purpose for out lives. Goal setting is a very scriptural principle. The Apostle Paul was a goal setter. In Philippians 3:13 he wrote, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before, I press toward the mark (goal) for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
The characteristics of goal setters:
They know what they want to achieve. Goal setters are clear about their purpose, their vision and their objectives. They know exactly what they want to accomplish. They take the time to write out in detail every goal they intend to accomplish.
They are focused on what they want to achieve. High achievers understand the importance of staying focused on their objectives. They realize the necessity of not being distracted form what they are attempting to accomplish. In order to succeed in life you must do what God told the great leader of Israel, Joshua, in Joshua 1:7, “Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go.” In other words God was saying don’t allow yourself to be distracted by what’s going on around you. Stay focused on what I’ve called you to do.
They believe they can accomplish what they set out to do. Faith is essential to success in any area of life. The word “faith” has been defined as “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) I like to say it like this, “It is the inner image of the finished product. It is seeing things as they can be instead of as they presently are.” You must believe that what you want to accomplish, can and will be accomplished. You must also believe in your God-given ability to do it.
They are passionate about what they want to achieve. High achievers either, “Do what they love or love what they do.” You can tell when a person is passionate about what they want. You can hear it in their voice and see it in their eyes. Passion is that thing which consumes you. That thing you think, talk and do all the time. Goal setters get excited when they begin to tell others about what they intend to accomplish.
They act in the face of fear. Goal setters learn to overcome the fears that hold the average person back. In order to succeed one must overcome all fears that limit or hinder them from acting on their goals. The primary way to overcome fear is to face what you are afraid of head on. Take action in spite of the fear and you will see it vanish.
They learn from their life experiences. Goal setters recognize the fact that they don’t always do everything right. They re aware they don’t know everything they need to know about what they are striving to accomplish. Although goal setters make many mistakes and experience many failures along the way, they know that failure isn’t final. High achievers learn from their mistakes as well as their successes and go on.
They possess a never quit mindset. According to B.C. Forbes, “To succeed, we must have the will to succeed, we must have the stamina, determination, backbone, persistence, self-reliance and faith.” The great business tycoon John D. Rockefeller once said, “I do not think there is any quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of persistence. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” Goal setters have the uncanny ability to not quit, regardless of the pressure to do so. They understand, “The rewards for those who persists, far exceeds the pain that precedes the victory.”
