If you set too many goals for yourself, your life will be like a fast train, where you look out at the beautiful scenery, but it’s just a blur. Soon you want to slow down the train, but you don’t want to lose momentum.
It’s like you’ve set yourself a pace that is impossible to maintain. If you don’t slow down, the train will continue picking up speed until it crashes.
Even if the train doesn’t crash, do you really want your life to be a blur? Wouldn’t it be better to have one to three goals that are actually biblical, and scrap the rest? To heck with productivity, if you are an overachiever who can’t savor life. If you fall into this category, scrap all your goals and decide to live this next year by living in the moment and abiding in Christ. Get off the train, feel the cool grass between your toes, and have a lovely picnic with your family. Metaphorically speaking.
If you insist on being highly productive, consider this: Even if you’re productive and accomplishing tons, what does it matter? Unless it’s exactly, precisely in the center of the will of God, your “accomplishments” will have no lasting impact and will be for nothing.
Why is your life going at such a frantic, crazy pace? Is there a reason? Did God actually lead you to do each thing that you are doing? Or do you just live a blurry life because you can’t say no to anything, so you’re stuck with too many commitments that God never led you into?
If you set goals for yourself that you never reach, maybe you are setting the wrong goals. I know a woman who set herself the goal of losing 100 pounds last year. Do you think she reached her goal, especially considering that she was doing a bazillion other things? No, she did not. I set myself the goal of losing 17 pounds, and as much as I’ve exercised this year (more than ever in my life), I did NOT meet my goal. So was the goal worth having? I say yes. Because it made me a healthier person, and my husband noticed and smiled. I also felt prompted by God to do this, and it has helped my marriage.
So I must stop for a second and say that the only exception to scrapping your goals (besides abiding in Christ) is weight loss and fitness. If you’re putting effort into maintaining the body that God has given you because it’s the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you want to have more energy, anything you do towards this end is not wasted. Even if you gain the weight back later, it’s not wasted that you exercised today, because today you have more energy to pour into life, so it was worth it today.
Some people think you should set your goals high and shoot for the stars. If your goals are too low, then you will never achieve anything big. People, goals are not promises. Do you realize that? Goals are something to put up above and ahead of you, so that you know where you’re going. Please consult God when making goals. Why waste a lot of time on something that wasn’t God’s goal? Then who is glorified? No one really. It’s just time wasted.
Tags: Goals, New Year, Organization, productivity, time management
Fun website… also a homeschooler so looking forward to reading more of your blog! Cheers!
Glad you’re enjoying my blog!
I have found that setting too many goals only depresses you. As a homeschooling mother, my goals come second to my kids and husband. When they are happy, then it is easier form me to do things that I want to do. Yes, we should ask God what our goals should be.
Too many goals pull you in too many directions.
This is such a great point! “Please consult God when making goals. Why waste a lot of time on something that wasn’t God’s goal?” I have a couple big goals for 2018 but I believe they are things God has/is leading me towards. And I will continue to pray to guidance to ensure I’m not straying from His plan.
So many people don’t consult God when making goals. They just invent them, and their year is wasted pursuing their goal that was never God’s.
What a thought-provoking post! I don’t set goals because in the past I always gave up. This year, I’m trying intentions, I intend to spend more time with God, set some visions as to where I want to be.
I am basking in the presence of God more this year.
For me, more than goals I set a life attitude or character growth areas to focus on. Sure I have things I want to accomplish but the inner character matters more to me. Learning to wait on the Lord, or obeying his voice, or being kinder. If I am too busy I miss all of the above. However, I cannot say I have mastered this…it is a work in progress.
Inner character goals are always good if we ask God to do the work in us.
You are so right, Susan. What is the use in setting so many goals. Yes, it is best to have a few that you can focus on; if God has directed you there. There is no need to set ourselves up for failure. We need to be present and in the moment, what I call, “being intentional”. Bless you.
Amen. God bless you, too!