Setting Your Goal on Track!
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
• Are you running in your lane or trying to be in someone else’s?
• Are you hoping 2021 is going to be a better year or are you actively going to make better things happen?
• Are you dreaming of great things in your life but just leaving it all to God?
I want to encourage you today to look towards 2021 with eager anticipation.
Have you asked the Lord, ‘What are you dreaming about and how can I partner with you in 2021?”
As we consider what has happened in 2020, we all know it has been a difficult year in many ways. The good news is we have survived 100% of our worst days.
Setting goals is a vital part of our lives. They help us map out our future. We must set our direction and know what we are working towards and where we want to go. Otherwise, we are just living aimlessly and at the mercy of circumstances and events. Once we have a clear idea of the vision for our lives, we intentionally set goals, outline the steps and create an action plan. Imagine a yacht out on the ocean with no idea of its destination. It doesn’t matter which winds come up; it could be swept in the wrong direction completely. How will you know when you get there - if you have no idea where you are going? Setting goals gives us focus, clarity, determination and discipline.
Proverbs 4: 25 says
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Step One. Assess areas of your life.
Using the Wheel of Life is a great starting point. It is divided up into 6 categories and helps us focus on the different areas in our lives. You can also arrange your own categories. Personally, I separate Career and Finance.
Financial and Career;
Mental and Educational;
Physical and Health,
Social and Cultural;
Spiritual and Ethical and
Family and Home.
The idea is to assess each segment and ask yourself. ‘How satisfied am I (out of 10) with this segment?’ For example, you may ask, how satisfied am I with the time I spend with my family and realise it only scores 4/10. Or ‘how satisfied am I with my spiritual life?’ and it scores 8/10.
Step 2. Write down the Outcome!
Once you have assessed each category, look at each one again and ask yourself, ‘what would I like to see happen in this area?’ Dream big! We serve a great and mighty God. He can do more than we can ask or imagine. For example, I live in South Africa and my family is in the UK. If I assess Family time, it would be a low score because of COVID but a goal I would set for myself would be to arrange a trip to the UK. The UK is in lockdown, but God can make a way where there seems to be no way. Don’t look at the circumstances because circumstances always change.
Goals also need to scare you a little. They need to stretch you, challenge you or demand something from you. Otherwise, you are staying in your comfort zone and your comfort zone is not your friend.
Write down the outcome! Writing down the outcome is very important because something significant happens when we put pen to paper. It helps to take shape and form.
Step 3. Create action steps.
So, you have written the outcome and you know what you would like to see happen. This is where determination and discipline come in. These steps are not just going to happen. Every day we have to get up with determination and focus. You can be distracted or disciplined and remember the pain of regret (of not doing something) far outweighs the pain of discipline.
Step 4. Stay accountable.
We all have people around us who believe in us and our abilities. We cheer each other on because we see the potential in each other. Tell a friend what you are dreaming about with God. Tell someone what you want to achieve in 2021 and cheer each other on!. Keep on track with the goals you have set and watch how God directs your steps.
Proverbs 16:9 We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.
It is time to set goals wherever you are stagnating. 2020 may have been incubation. 2021 is the year of growth.
As I sat down to write this, I felt a strong impression from the Lord that He wants to breathe fresh fire on embers that have gone cold. He wants to breathe new life on dreams that have fallen by the wayside and on plans that are gathering dust. He wants you to rise and emerge as the woman He has called you to be. He wants you to fulfil the chapters in the story He has written for you.
You are an ordinary woman leading an extraordinary life! You are meant to be running in the lane created for you. You were born for a purpose the world cannot do without. God wants to partner with you in all that you do. Because He made you – just like you! To make a difference in the lives of other people and all for the glory of God.
Dream big, trust the Lord and set amazingly, exciting goals for 2021. Let’s change the world one step at a time!
Heather Church
Women of Reverence welcomes Heather Church as a guest blogger.
Heather Church is an executive coach, businesswoman, speaker and seminar facilitator. She is an encourager who loves to draw out the gold in women and to help them discover the destiny God has ordained for them.
Heather is called to position women for purpose and call them into significance! She is passionate about helping women draw into a closer relationship with Jesus and live from a higher level of intimacy with the King of Kings.
Her expertise is helping people find out what makes them tick, how to make better choices and respond to challenges significantly
Isaiah 61:1-
‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners”.
Heather lives in Fourways and loves communication, travel, cooking, reading and learning.