article from SUMMER 2004
ATTAIN YOUR GOALS
Do you set goals in your life? Why do you need to? What goals should you set? How do you achieve your goals? And what should be your ultimate goal?
BY KEVIN D. DENEE
Have you ever been asked, “What do you want to do with your life?” or “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “Where are you planning to go to college?” You may or may not have had specific answers to such questions.
However, in life, you will often face these types of questions. Each day, you make choices and decisions. The ability to plan for them and to set goals, no matter the size, will help you become a more effective person.
If you took a moment, could you write a lengthy list of all your short-, medium- and long-term goals? The list is probably not as big as it could be. If you took time to really think about what you want to do with your life, you could probably come up with an extensive list.
Look at society. So many teenagers have an “I-don’t-care” attitude—they drift aimlessly through life. Many youth today make no goals other than when they will play their next video game, watch their favorite sitcom, or “hang out” with their friends.
As a youth set apart from this world, attending God’s Church and being able to understand His teachings, you can be a great example by the goals you set and achieve. Also, by doing this, you will become an overall better human being. You will achieve what you set out to do and, of course, you will be far happier!
Successful people, especially leaders, have tremendous vision. They can see themselves getting things done—becoming something. King Solomon wrote, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18).
Do you use vision in your own life? Do you foresee events developing in your life and prepare for them? Can you see yourself married? Employed? Parenting children? Becoming baptized, and ultimately becoming a member of the God Family?
Are you preparing for your future?
Types of Goals
So what are all the goals you can have? There are many different kinds and sizes of goals.
Take a moment to think of all the many areas in your life in which you can have specific goals. As you read this article, you may wish to write or type a list of your own goals. Use the items mentioned as a stepping stone to brainstorm some goals. Place them into different categories—short-, medium- and long-term. Be sure to leave a number of spaces between each goal, in order to write out specific steps to fulfill them.
God’s Way of Life: There are endless goals within living God’s way of life. As a teenager in God’s Church, you would certainly aspire to baptism. Before reading every Ambassador Youth, you should reread the tagline, “Developing Leaders for the World Tomorrow,” and make this your goal—to become a leader in the world to come. Smaller goals, but just as important, would be daily prayer and Bible study, taking sermon notes and reviewing them (read our article “Words to Remember – How to Take Effective Notes,” on page 6), and having edifying discussions regarding what you learn.
Understand that the pulls and temptations of this world are getting stronger. To survive, you must determine to achieve—set your mind on—numerous goals in this area of your life. If you do not—if you just allow yourself to “go with the flow”—you will not end up where you want to be.
Your Future: There are endless goals you can have regarding your future. Will you go to college? What courses will you take? Do you want to be married? Do you want to have children? What kind of career will you pursue?
Self-improvement: You may also have many goals regarding personal improvement: self-discipline, personality, cultural refinement, a sense of humor, human relations, personal health, etc. Ways to improve the self are never-ending.
Your Daily Life: Determine to be more effective in ALL that you do on a daily basis. Look at each day and set goals in areas where you can improve: Do you snack too often or watch too much television? Are you rude to parents or family members?
As mentioned, one’s goals can be endless. But you need to start somewhere. Look in each area of your life, and ask yourself where you would want to see improvement. Write a list of reachable—attainable—goals!
How to Set a Goal
Start by setting the large goals in your life. Whether it is baptism, marriage, children or college, be sure to come up with specific large, long-term goals.
Also, determine some medium-sized goals. Ask yourself: What would I want accomplished six months from now? Once you have some answers, create a list of attainable goals.
When setting specific weekly and daily goals, ask: What are the things I need to get done in a week but never find the opportunity or time to do? Do I find the time to exercise three to four days a week? Do I review my sermon notes? Do I set aside days throughout the school week for in-depth study?
No matter the size of the goal, come up with specific plans and steps to fulfill it. As the old adage goes, “Most people do not plan to fail, they fail to plan.” A famous football player once said, “Spectacular achievements are always preceded by painstaking preparation.” Keep the plan practical, so you can analyze where you went wrong if the goal is not reached or when you experience setbacks.
Also, beware of human nature. It is natural to go the easy way. That is why it is so common to procrastinate, sit in front of the television, not do homework, etc. After setting goals, be prepared for times when you will not “feel” like following through. Be prepared for feelings of laziness and indifference and be ready to counteract them with all your might. Ask God, through prayer, for the strength to follow through with your goals.
Here is a basic principle to keep in mind: Do not allow circumstances to dictate what you do with your life. Society plays “victimhood” in every conceivable way. Do not fall into the same trap, claiming you are a victim when something doesn’t go according to plan.
Different and difficult circumstances will arise, but keep your eyes on your goals. The temptation to quit the pursuit of a goal is based on temporary feelings. Do not allow yourself to be controlled by feelings. Be an emotionally mature person and determine to stay focused.
The Ultimate Goal
Teenagers in this world do not have access to the knowledge and understanding that you have. Nothing could be more vital than fulfilling your awesome human potential. No goal is as important as growing in God’s character, ultimately becoming part of the God Family.
Do not take for granted all that you hear and read in God’s Church. Prove to yourself what this temporary human life is all about. Study the booklet Why Do You Exist? and the book The Awesome Potential of Man. Apply these materials to yourself—and be determined that you will achieve YOUR incredible potential!
For the rest of your life, determine to follow the example of Paul, who himself said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).
(To learn more about setting and achieving goals in your life, read our booklet The Laws to Success.)