Setting Goals I: Creating an Atmosphere for Spiritual Growth

What are goals?

What comes to mind when someone mentions the idea of setting goals? Maybe you had an experience in high school where some motivational speaker came to tell you about the importance of goals. I’m not sure how many times I heard someone tell me that I wouldn’t be successful in life if I didn’t have goals. Even then, I still wouldn’t be successful unless I wrote down my goals, copied them in triplicate, wrote them again (this time on post-it notes), and placed them strategically throughout my house (by the light switch, on the ceiling, on the refridgerator, in my underwear drawer… you get the idea). While I certainly understood the logic of the goal-setting process, the whole deal seemed a little bit excessive to me. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go and I figured that if I pointed myself in the right direction, I was bound to get there.

And then I became an adult. You see, I found that, as my level of responsibility increased, my natural ability to keep going in the right direction decreased. In trying to juggle my roles as teacher, student, musician, athlete, Christian, etc., I let a lot of balls drop. I had a level of passion for excellence that was difficult to match, but I didn’t have a plan to help direct my passion.

At this point in my life, I have to tell you that I have pretty much become entirely goal-driven. I have to be. If I don’t have a specific plan for everything in my life, nothing seems to happen. Once I set my mind on something, I tend to manage a level of singular focus that can even tend to borderline the realm of obsession. I not only set goals, but I write them down. I make copies of them. I put reminders of them around me so I can be constantly encouraged in and reminded of what I hope to accomplish. While there may not be a sticky note in my underwear drawer, I’ve arrived at a place where I understand what others were trying to tell me back in high school: Goals are essential for success.

Let’s get specific

And so I want to begin this discussion of goals in the area of Faith. Why start there? Well, if my faith is supposed to be the lense through which I see the world, then all the goals I make should have some sort of basis in my faith. How could I otherwise hope to achieve something that is of eternal consequence if I am not first focused on my goals for the way I treat my faith and interact with Jesus?

The thing that makes this discussion difficult is that very few people have specific goals when it comes to their spirituality. How many times have you heard someone tell you that they want to grow closer to God? Or that they want to read the Bible more? What does that mean? How do you define closer? How will you determine if you are reading the Bible more?

I’m not here to tell you what your goals for spiritual growth should be nor do I mean to offend you currently have one of the aforementioned goals. Maybe you really do want to read the Bible more. That’s great! Just make sure you define that. You could start by determining just how much you read it now and then making a measurable goal for increase. So, if you are currently reading your Bible 3 times per week, maybe you should step that up to 6.

Be realistic

Like many of you, I recognize the importance of attaining spiritual growth in my life. I believe whole-heartedly that it is the single most importand thing you can accomplish. However, I know that I have been struggling in this area recently. So, as much as I would love to start reading and memorizing a book of the Bible every day, I recognize the fact that I am not going to make that large of a jump overnight. While I might be able to hang on for the first few days (or not, since this would involve memorizing thousands and thousands of words per week), I know that I won’t be able to keep up and my goal will most likely fail. Instead, I need to determine what changes I can make right now that I can stick with.

For instance, one of my goals right now is to always be reading a book over some topic/character/issue addressed in the Bible (being that I own at least 40 such books that I have never even read, this shouldn’t be too difficult to implement). While this isn’t a very difficult task to add to my daily routine, I know that it will be something of high worth and value. I can see the purpose of this goal, and I am confident I can attain it.

Getting outside of your comfort zone

The other thing to remember is that your goals need to also require some degree of effort. While you shouldn’t pick something that is too difficult, picking something that is too easy might not lead to the level of growth you are hoping for. So don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. A huge advantage to faith goals is that, at any level of success, they will always yield eternal and relational reward.

What are your faith goals? How do you determine success or failure in spiritual matters? What advice would you offer to other readers looking for ideas and somewhere to start?