So how do you feel about Goal Setting?

What is it about goal setting that gets some people excited while others cringe just hearing the words? I suppose planners will mostly enjoy goal setting and 'go-with-the-flow' folks will not enjoy it as much but the whole idea of setting goals has become a hot topic. Schools hand out agendas to students to impliment the habit of setting goals. Businesses have business plans which are another term for goals.

When I get around to housework, I love to compile a list of what I want to accomplish and the times that I think it will take to finish each task. It's like a game of "Beat the Clock" and the minutes I can gain on each item are free time at the end. This is goal setting for the day. It lists specific measurable tasks and a set time when each item will be complete. It helps me so much with staying on task and staying focused until my list is complete. Then at the end of the time allotted for cleaning, I can look over my list and be grateful for what got accomplished. One thing I have learned is that at the end of the day, the time that I finished cleaning is really not important at all but rather, look at what was accomplished. What fulfillment that gives me! I love it.

In the same way when setting goals, remember that the time you plan on completing your task is not nearly as important as the completion of the task! My hubby, or Dad to my kids, feels that goals is truly a four letter word. He feels like a failure before he even begins. I think that happens from the timing becoming the focus rather than the tasks completed. The completed time can always be adjusted to accomodate your circumstances but the measurable task stays constant.

My goal for 2012 was to memorize one Bible verse each month. It is now April 2 and I can't recite the verse I started on in January. That doesn't mean I'm a failure, even though the pressure is building; I can still accomplish my goal but with different dates to each verse. Not that I want to give myself an out, but if at the end of the year I have only memorized 9 instead of the desired 12, I still will know 9 more verses than if I had never set the goal.