The Mindset and skillsets for Goal Setting

I had the privilege of been a guest on the Watoto Church Power, Sex and Money program last week Friday on the topic of goal setting. Watoto Church is Pentecostal congregation established over thirty years ago by Pastor Gary Skinner and his wife Marilyn.  The interviewer Ronnie Habasa did an excellent job of facilitating the process to ensure that we focused on the topic in a conversational, light hearted and meaningful way. 

Now, with most people’s experience with making New Year resolutions and not keeping them beyond February 14^th (Valentine’s Day) of the same year, and the feeling that people in the Church may think of goal setting as some corporate ritual, I was very impressed by the level of interest and enthusiasm from the audience.

And it was the preparation for the session that also proved to be very rewarding. I listened to Pastor Rick Warren’s sermon on Transformed: How to Set Personal Goals By Faith and Change Your Life By Changing Your Mind. Two pivotal sermons that shaped my understanding and provided great biblical references. I also returned to some of our content from Franklin Covey on The Five Choices for Extraordinary Productivity as well as The 4 Disciplines of Execution.

I learnt from Pastor Warren’s sermon the following six reasons why we must set goals and work to ensure that we accomplish them. First, Goal setting is a spiritual responsibility as articulated by Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:12-15, “I don’t claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself, Of course, my brothers and sisters, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is head. So, I run straight towards the goal to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above. All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you”

The above scripture also draws our attention to the fact that we should live by design and not default. I once heard a Deejay on one of our city radio stations say that ‘’my life is like a river and I let flow anywhere’’. That may sound cute on radio but a disastrous recipe for living. While each New Year provides and opportunity to look back and set priorities for the coming year, setting short, mid and long term goals are required if we are to achieve the very reason we were created.

Secondly, goals are statement of faith. Ephesians 3:20, ‘’To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of’’. If God can do more, then our goals communicate our dreams, hopes and aspirations with the knowledge that God is able to make them in accordance with his plans for our lives. Matthew 9:29 says ‘’According to your faith, it shall be added on to you”. Goals provide us an opportunity to exercise our faith.

Thirdly, goals keep us going. Job 6:11 ‘’I do not have strength to endure, I do not have a goal that encourages me to carry on’’. Goals provide the motivation to achieve. For instance, Mitchell (1982) defines motivation as ‘’those psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed. We also know that giving people specific goals to achieve rather than telling them to do their best increase their motivation (Locke & Brian 1966).

Fourthly, goals focus your energy. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 9, verse 26, Apostle Paul says ‘’I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something’’. Meaning I do not engage in meaningless activity, my actions are directed at achieving something, a goal. A goal that will honor God, demonstrate love and require you to depend on His strength. At a time when 54% of people spend much of their time on activities that demand their immediate attention but have little relevance to their top priorities, goals help filter what activities to do or not. Goethe said things which matter the most must never be at the mercy of things which matter the lest. Let me add that it does not matter if those ‘’urgent things where delivered to your phone instantly.

Fifthly, goals build character. The process of working on a goal will test our perseverance, tenacity and grit. In this process, we learn the mindset and skills necessary to endure. We clarify our integrity and crystalize our intent in the journey to live for something greater that ourselves.

And finally, good goals will be rewarded. Proverbs 11:27 says “If your goals are good, you will be respected, but you are looking for trouble, that what you will get”. 

And we know men and women who have lived sacrificially for the advancement of a cause greater than themselves. From Mahatma Ghandi to Martin Luther King Jr, people who set and accomplish good goals leave a legacy. Think of President John F. Kennedy who announced a goal to an American on the moon and return them safely before the end of the decade. Many thought this was impossible, but this goal was achieved on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon’s surface.

Now that we know the scriptural foundations for goal setting, what do we do on Monday morning? A few steps, first we must be clear on the type of contribution we want to make. Tools like Franklin Covey Mission Statement Builder found in Franklincovey.com/msb, Tom Rath’s Strengths Finder and Rick Warren SHAPE come in handy. We believe everyone has a meaningful contribution to make and it is important we are clear before we begin to set goals make new year resolutions.

Secondly, we suggest you identify your key roles, since our goals happen within the context our roles. For example, I am a father, husband, brother, Uncle, Facilitator, etc. We also remind folks to remember to set specific goals their most important asset which is you. So your physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions require our attention.

Thirdly, you clarify the kind of legacy you want to live in each role, instead of a father, my goal is to be a loving father. And instead of a husband, I will love to be a faithful husband. With that we recommend you move to the fourth step, which is to set the specific goals that will make that role statement become a reality. Now, these will be a series of goals over time and the caution is to focus on no more than three goals at the same time.