Goal Setting

I’m excited to see what this year holds as each of us pursue God’s plan and purpose for our lives. 2017 was filled with so many wonderful experiences both in ministry and for me personally. What I have learned is that I can’t dwell on the past. What I can do is rejoice in all the memories, then I must keep pressing forward, to accomplish the works that God has prepared ahead of me to do.
These are suggestions that I would like to pass on to you. As a woman in ministry we have lots of things to balance. I want each of you to know I am available to help you. Please contact my office if I can be of help to you.
Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality.

"People with clear written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine" Brian Tracy

Goals are critical to success yet often we are hesitant to set them unless we don't achieve them.
Goal setting is an important method of:

Deciding what you want to achieve in your life.
Separating what's important from what's irrelevant, or a distraction.
Motivating yourself.
Building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals.

Greg Salciciolli recently shared reasons why people struggle to set or achieve goals:
Fear of failure. Failing to plan. Analysis paralysis. Inactivity.
William A. Ward in his famous quote captures the secret to successfully realizing our goals. “Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceeds positively. Pursue persistently.” As we begin 2018 I want us to consider the following steps to a successful year of growth personally and professionally in the OMN.
Plan Purposefully. When you form your goal, create a desired outcome for each one. A desired outcome is writing down what you want to achieve when you meet the goal.
How will you know if you have achieved it? In order to accomplish your goal , give yourself at least three action plans and schedule them into your calendar to assure you move forward in achieving your desired results.
Remember these things while setting any goals: Are they SMART?
S – Specific (or Significant).
M – Measurable (or Meaningful).
A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented).
R – Relevant (or Rewarding).
T – Time-bound (or Trackable).
Prepare prayerfully. You can liken this to shopping for groceries and taking them home to prepare dinner. Dinner doesn't automatically appear on the table. Someone prepares ahead of time. They put together the provisions that are needed . When you are setting goals make sure you have prayed about what you want to accomplish. What do you need to put in place to be successful. Who will pray with you and keep you moving to the goal line. Are there things you need to put in your calendar? I would encourage each of you to take an hour of your week and sit with your Bible and notebook and ask God to direct you, give you a verse, a word, a written desire for 2018.
Proceed positively. When you have a positive outlook of life you will keep your actions moving toward completion. When we don't stay positive, we lose sight of what can happen and only look at the obstacles in our way. Often it will take extra effort to realize our goals and staying positive helps us push through.
Pursue persistently. Its the consistent discipline of working through the plan. Persistence will get you to where you want to go and while it is hard work, persistence, will drive you to achieve your goals.