How To Set Effective Goals
It’s the new year, and we are excited for what this year holds. We want to start it off strong by setting achievable and maintainable goals. We’ve put together this outline to help you do the same.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
You might have seen this acronym before, but it’s important to revisit it when goal setting. S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. It’s great to dream big, but when it comes to goal setting, you want it to be smaller steps to that big dream. Keep this in mind when you’re going through this next section and setting your goals.
Types of Goals
There are four different types of goals you can be setting. Either use them all or just the ones you want to work on. It’s up to you!
phsyical
What are your physical goals this year? Your dream might be to lose 100 pounds, so what goals will you set to reach that dream. Examples are working out 3 times a week, taking a walk daily, only eating out one meal a week and cooking the rest.
spiritual
How do you want to grow your relationship with God? This could look like spending 10 minutes a day in prayer, serving at church 3 times a month, reading a chapter of the Bible a day.
relational
How are you going to grow and invest in your relationships this year? Some ideas are meet with at least one person for coffee a month, intentionally call or text one person a week to check in on them, host a gathering four times this year where people can find community and meet others.
intellectual
What peaks your interest and how can you learn more about it? You can set a goal to take a course at your local community college, research and write about one topic a month, meet with someone four times this year who you can learn from and ask them questions.
REview
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Take time to ask God for vision and direction as you start this new year and allow yourself rewards through the process. With discipline and dedication, you can reach all of your goals.
