Goals are essentials. In a football match, there are goal posts, through which a ball must go. A football game without goals cannot in any way declare a winner. To succeed in life you need to score goals; you need to hit the target. It is said every journey has an end. Therefore a life without goals is like a journey without an end. Life takes on meaning when you are able to set goals for yourself and charge after them relentlessly.  What then is a goal? Goals are ends that steer deeds. Occasionally they are called targets. A goal is an aim or purpose; the end of which a design tends or a person aims to reach or attain. It is something you expect to accomplish. Something to be sought and which provides guidance and direction. One definition of a goal is that it is a dream with a deadline. Goals are the object of one’s effort. Elbert Hubbard once said, ‘Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal. Without clear goals, your effort or energies will not be organised at all around anything and usually that becomes a recipe for failure. Goals will give you a sense of direction, commitment and achievement. To reach our full potential, each one of us needs to set goals. These goals will drive your actions and motivate you to press on regardless of obstacles. A Goal will bring out a higher level of performance and discipline because an individual works towards achieving that well cherished goal. To get the things you want in life you need motivation, drive, and energy. When you make up your mind what you are going to make of your life and then work hard toward that goal you never lose – somehow you win out. Goals are indeed very important.

You see, like we have already referred to above, a goal targets your life and adds meaning to your striving (motivates), and enables you look beyond your present circumstances. The very thought of seeing yourself achieving the goal(s) puts you in a position of discipline and enables you to persevere and not to GIVE UP. For indeed only with the excitement of realising your goal will you be able to do your level best. A goal or purpose will enable you go the right direction and rightfully rewards the utilization of your effort, time and energy. A goal disciplines your life. Without goals, you have no limit of direction and no basis for discipline. You can say, go or do anything anytime anyhow. You are like someone who is on a journey without a destination or like a bag which anyone can take to anywhere and carry anything into it. You have neither basis for doing and no boundary to mark the end of your doing. Consider this, if your goal is to lose 4kg of weight, you will do all you can and what it takes to lose the weight. You won’t eat anything anytime anywhere and anyhow, but you will mind the food you eat, the times you eat, and the places you eat from and you will regularly work out (physical training). If your goal is to succeed as a student, you will give thought to the people you associate with and you will work towards achieving that goal by doing the necessary. It takes enthusiasm, commitment, belief in self, a willingness to work hard, a willingness to go the extra mile; a willingness to do whatever has to be done in order to get the job done and achieve your goal. That certainly entails discipline. Another thing is that you’ve got to have desire.  You’ve got to want something. You’ve got to crave something. You’ve got to long for something. You’ve got to have a burning passion. But desire is only a thought. It’s of no value until you’ve turned your desire into definite action. You must make the decision to go out and do something good. A burning desire to be, and to do, is the starting point from which you take off with your goal (dream with a deadline!)

Biblically, Good goals are not only acknowledged as highly significant but we are encouraged to be zealous for them or rather to pursue them with vigour. Galatians 4: 8-Be zealous provided the goal (purpose) is good. A goal can be good or bad and still be achievable. But you are encouraged to be zealous for good goals. In setting your goal whether, short or long term, the following criteria is generally regarded as very effective and indeed beneficial. If you set your goals following this criterion, be assured of victory. Set your goals following what is commonly called the SMART criteria. In other words ensure that your set goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

First and foremost, make sure that your goal is specific. Your goal should not be vague or unclear. Specificity means your goal is clear. Also ensure that your goal comes out as a clear target. Have in mind exactly what you want to achieve. I guarantee you that being specific (exact, particular or precise) about your goal will make the way to that goal particular and the distance to it tireless and less baffling. It is said if you do not know where you are going, all roads lead there and you will probably not wind up there. May I add that you will probably end up there very late and awfully tired. Being vague (unclear or ambiguous) will make it difficult to establish a clear way to achieve that goal and also you may find it hard to achieve a blurred or distorted goal. A story is told of a man who was crippled in his right hand. In his prayer to God, he simply said ‘God heal and make this hand like the other one’. And indeed as per his prayer, the left hand became as crippled as the right hand. What we learn from this is to be specific. The man should have clearly said ‘Lord heal and make my right hand like my left hand. Once you have your specific goal, ensure to put it in writing. Writing down your goal(s) increases your focus. The more focused you are on your goal; the more likely you are to accomplish it. And when you note down your goal, instead of writing, a new house be specific and write, ‘a three bed roomed house, with two bathrooms, two toilets and a view of the river on a thirty acres of land. ‘Instead of writing, a higher mark in chemistry or biology, it would be best to write, an A+ in chemistry or biology. This way, you have plainly stated your goal or vision hence your focus will be enhanced by your clearly stated goal. When you have set your specific goal and written down, perceive yourself as already having achieved that goal. Friends, we must first see what we want to become and then become what we see. For example, if your goal is to become Managing Director occupying the spacious corner office, envision or see your self as being one. However, if you still envisage yourself as a clerk bundled in a little cubic office, then that is where you will stay. Attaining goals requires the right frame of mind. Henry Ford once said, ‘if you think you can, you can and if you think you can’t you are right. The holy bible also says as a man thinks, so is he. Whatever your mind believes to be the truth, you will attain that perception. Your subconscious mind is very essential to the business of goal attainment. If your goal for example, is to be a meritorious student and you still visualise (picture) yourself as an average student, believe you me your body will strive to imitate what your mind perceives and you won’t achieve your goal to be meritorious. What you see with your eye of faith is what you get. In other words, how you see yourself is what you will say about yourself and that is what you will get (Mathew 12:37 & proverbs 18:21). Follow the EDC principle which is Envision it- Deem it -Complete it. In essence, you have to conceive it like a mother conceives a baby, believe it like it is there and accomplish it. When you see it (in your mind’s eye), Write it somewhere and repeat it aloud as often as you can. This is how you will change the picture in your mind. This is definitely how you will change from a negative perception of things to a positive one.

Now, this is how you should say it. Instead of saying, I want to be promoted to manager occupying the large corner office, say, ‘I am the manager and I have the spacious corner office’. This way you are reprogramming your mind so the goal can become a reality even though in the physical realm, it is non existent and you have not yet attained it. Both in speech and conduct act as though you have already achieved the goal. This is what the holy bible calls faith, being sure of what we hope for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is now and in Romans 4:17, we read that faith makes things which are not as though they are. However, faith without works is dead or rather empty. Even as you boldly declare and confess, work towards your goal. By positively asserting with your mouth from time to time your goal, you are indoctrinating your subconscious mind to work for you by making possible your thoughts to direct you to your goal despite the obstacles. Remember also that there is power in what you say. The holy bible says life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). So if you keep saying you are dull, indeed you will be. If you keep saying you are sick, indeed you will be sick. If you keep saying you are unfortunate, indeed you will be. Say you are rich even though your situation is one of poverty. Say you have peace even though a troubled situation surrounds you. The bible has several examples of people who were specific about their goals or what they sought after. A story is told of Elisha the prophet who followed another prophet called Elijah until the latter was taken to heaven. Elisha’s goal was very specific; to get the power that Elijah possessed and more of it. He (Elisha) worked towards attaining that goal with decisiveness and determination until he got it (2 Kings 2). So be specific about your goal.

The other thing to note is that set measurable (assessable) goals i.e. Goals for which you will be able to determine how you are going to notice or measure progress. Have a criterion in place that will indicate when you have achieved the goal. The experience of being able to be aware of the progress will keep you motivated and you will take pleasure in the process of accomplishing your goal. To get to the bigger there, you have to start with the small here. You cannot become something big from nowhere small. Start small and end up bigger. Start less and end up more, lower and end up higher. That way you will be able along the way to measure your level of growth and success. They say the only place where you climb from the top is a grave and surely you don’t want to rise that way. Even faith is a measure. You cannot believe God for a much bigger thing if you have never believed Him for something smaller.

The third point is that set achievable goals by ensuring that your goals are within reach or within your capacity. Set goals that are reachable or realizable. Goals for which there is a realistic or practical path to attainment. This however, does not mean you should set easy or walk over goals. You should be able to set difficulty but doable goals, ambitious but attainable goals or challenging but manageable goals. If your goal is to become a successful entrepreneur, that is indeed workable and achievable. If your goal however is to go to the moon by paddling a canoe, that is not only wishful thinking but quite unrealistic and well out of reach. Before or after you set your goal, it is vital to know what it would take to make your goal(s) attainable or possible to get to.  If your goal is to get healed God’s way, find out what it takes to get that goal accomplished.  You may wish to get vital information from the scriptures and through other attested people of God. If you desire to be a millionaire, learn what it takes to reach that goal and then be able to utilise that information in your quest to attain that goal. It is nonsensical to set goals in ignorance and more so to live without knowledge and faith.

The fourth aspect is to ensure that your goals are rewarding. Make sure to recognise and celebrate milestones you have reached along the way, and you will be more motivated and focused as you continue towards your goal. It is important to have clear reasons why you want to achieve your goal(s). Write down some of the gratifying, worthwhile reasons detailing why you want your goal and what achieving the goal will mean. Imagine how encouraged you will feel when the goal is attained and what it will do for you. This will enable you get through difficulties extremely motivated to pursue your goal. Let me say here that learn to set the goals your self. Set goals yourself-It is not God or any one else who should set goals for you, but yourself. This will give you the motivation to pursue the goals. God will guide you and grant victory. In fact, you will put in less effort in attaining goals set for you by someone else. More still, you can analyse someone else’s goals and make them your own. In this regard, may I earnestly invite you to learn to set goals for yourself aimed at carrying out the work that God has placed on the table for your action.

Lastly, set a time limit to achieving your goals or meeting your targets. It is imperative to set a time limit or to state a clear deadline to reaching your goal(s). This will turn your goal from wishful thinking into a plan of action. Even God himself sets time limit to achieving His Goals. A good example is when He appeared to Abraham (Genesis 18:10), He told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son by that time in the next year. This was a period in which purpose was to be accomplished. It means that if God had appeared to Abraham in October 2002, then in October the following year in 2003 or around that month, Sarah had her son. Setting a deadline to achieving your goal(s) will protect you from procrastination (putting off things that you should be doing now). Procrastination steals time and delays achievement of goals. To achieve your goals, it is essential to change one’s attitude and put it right. It is said that right makes might, but might is not always right. Your attitude will determine how great you will become. Remember attitude decides altitude. Achieving your goals may also require that you come out of your comfort zones and also change the people you associate with. Change is critical and more often than not, it becomes a deterrent to accomplishing one’s goal(s). Albert Einstein once said if you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal – not to people or things. Here he was referring to the need for you to stay focused on your goal and not be distracted by people or things. To achieve your goals, don’t let obstacles, setbacks and problems hinder you. Have a commitment to persevere (endure), a virtue that we shall look at later in the foregoing pages. “To succeed or make it in life, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to arrive at your goal(s). You must convert your talk into deeds.

Finally though being smart is sweet; there is no sweet without sweat. So you ought to sweat a little to become real smart and achieve your goals. I know you will not live without goals and when you set your goals you will do it the smart way and you will vigorously pursue the goals without giving up.