Next Post: Goal Setting for 2010 pt. 2

Goal Setting for 2010

A friend of mine gave me an article written by Mark Batterson, a pastor in Washington D.C., titled “10 Steps to Goal Setting.”  It is one of the best articles on goal setting I have ever read.  As 2009 comes to a close(can you believe another year has come and gone?), I have already started thinking about my life goals and my goals for 2010.  Here is a short summary of Batterson’s advice for goal setters.

Batterson begins with a quote from world champion chess player, Garry Kasparov:  “A (chess) Grandmaster makes the best moves because they are based on what he wants the board to look like ten or twenty moves in the future.”  That is a great picture of what goal-setting is all about…making moves NOW based on what you want your life to look like ten or twenty years from now.  Sadly, most people spend more time planning their summer vacation than they do planning their life!

Listed below is Batterson’s first 5 steps to goal-setting:

1)Start With Prayer:  goal setting is really a stewardship issue because it is making the most of the time, talent, and resources God has given you.  It makes sense to spend time praying and listening to God about the goals HE would like for you to focus on.

2)Check Your Motives: does your goal honor God?  Does your goal make a difference in someone’s life?  Does your goal bring you joy?

3)Get Ideas from Others: other people can inspire you to accomplish what you never dreamed possible.  You can Google Mark Batterson’s goals for a list to help you get started.  I would also encourage you to talk to your friends about their goals. One word of caution:  it is important to remember to set your own goals…don’t set a certain goal only because your friend set the same goal.

4)Think in Categories: organizing your goals into categories helps you to stay on track toward reaching them.  You can use categories like, family goals, travel goals, physical goals, spiritual goals, influence goals.

5)Be Specific: goals are dreams with deadlines.  Don’t make a goal to “Get into Shape.”  Make a goal that says, “I want to run the Indy Mini-Marathon.” Set the goal in a way that makes the goal measurable.

I will share steps 6-10 later.