Beyond Goal Setting

I like to read self improvement books, motivational material and overall successful living type material. The Bible is an excellent source for such material. Four of my favorite "pick-me-up" passages are:

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. (NKJV)

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (KJV)

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I remember the first such book that I read other than the Bible was The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. One of my favorite self-improvement authors and speakers is Zig Zigler. I have read several of his books and was privileged to to attend a motivational seminar several years ago where he highlighted the schedule of powerful motivational speakers.

I am not a good note taker so I have to trust my memory to store all the good ideas and things I hear and read. That got me through high school and college fairly well but as I'm getting older I'm struggling a little bit with that. There are points that stick with me but I have difficulty remember where it was that I heard or read it. One such phrase is "If you want to change others first change yourself." I ofter credit Dr. Peale with that, rightly or wrongly I don't know. I know it helped me as a parent trying to deal with our oldest child. We have similar, strong-willed personalities and even at the early age of 8 her and I were butting heads and having shouting matches. I was often demanding that she watch and change her attitude. I remember thinking, "Boy, it's going to be a long time until she turns 18." After reading that, what I realized was, it was my attitude that needed changing. I apologized to her for my attitude, changed it and yet to this day I am amazed at how much she "changed" and we have had a great relationship since.

One of the common points stressed in most of the self improvement and motivational books and seminars is goal setting. They tell you that you have to write them down and keep them visible in order to keep you heading in the direction of whatever goal it is that you want to reach. They stress setting both short and long term goals and the necessity of writing them down. This is also good business practice as well. I have had limited success with that and I don't think I am entirely by myself, that is the purpose for this article.

The idea is not an original one of mine but I don't know who to credit because I wasn't taking notes on the book that I was reading, no surprise there. The point did not resonate strong enough at the time for me to remember the book or the author. But in recent days it just keeps surfacing in my mind and I think it is the reason for my somewhat limited success with long term goal setting in the past. Having a goal and writing it down and putting it in a visible place is not enough. You need to have a reason behind the goal. That is the fuel that keeps the motivation going. Reminding ourselves why we are striving for a goal is like refueling at a gas station on a trip. That may not be so necessary for our short term goals but I think it is vital for long term ones. More than keeping the goal visible we need to keep the why visible.