Setting Goals--How To & How I Set My Goals

Goal-setting is so important when you're "old". If you want to accomplish things, goal setting helps you make time for them. You don't let life pass you buy when you're busy reaching goals! :)

It's easy to make excuses when life is busy-- work, school, kids, holidays, whatever it is-- don't let anything take you away from your dreams.

What is it that you want to accomplish?

Whether it's running a marathon, redoing your bathroom, making homemade pie crust, or potty training your kiddos, you have to write it down. By writing it down, you have now made it a priority.

Break it up into bite-sized chunks

Let's go with the homemade pie crust goal. One day find the recipe, one day get your ingredients (supplies), one day get your calendar and find out when you're going to make it, and make it. While each task won't be this easy (Um, hello, learning a second language), it's important to remember to break each task into small bits.

Sit down each week and evaluate your goals

Or each month, day, or few weeks. Try to take notes. Be honest. If you slacked off one week, try to figure out why you slacked off and see how you can avoid it next time. Don't be too hard on yourself-- this is your life!

"You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings & prosperity will be yours"

Enjoy what you've worked for! Continue to make more goals and creating bite-sized mini goals.

How can you apply this in real life?

A recent goal I accomplished was something silly but important to me.

We had been trying to find a church family that fit well with my husband and me. We are quite particular (as we should be) and knew it could take forever to find the perfect church. We also knew we were not going to settle, but that we would keep trying until we found a church we loved.

So what did we do? We sat down and on day one we researched. We found over 70 churches within 10 miles of us. Obviously we removed some churches we knew we wouldn't enjoy-- we're not Jewish so we removed those. :) We're also not 7th Day Adventists so we were able to remove that! Nathan mentioned a few others, so without any questions, we got our list down to 6.

Not going to lie, it was a little disheartening to go from 70 churches to 6. I was stressed that we wouldn't like one of the 6. I tried to look at six churches as a big number, not a small number.

Next up, we mapped out the churches and headed to each one. We decided that if we LOVED one, we wouldn't go to any more. We would keep going and eventually become members.

We loved number 1. Then we didn't love number 1 because it was too far. So guess what we did? We went to church number 2, then 3, then 4, and finally numero 5.

We love church numero 5! 

And we'll keep going until there is a reason to not love it. :)