Setting SMART goals for success

God is a success and wants us to be successful but one of the things i have discovered is that there is always plan for everything. God sets plans, sets the timing and His goals are very specific, accurate and relevant to his divine purpose for mankind. we as children of God and followers of God just to adapt ater Him. the Bible says Jesus was lamb of god slain from the foundation of the world. The plan of salvation of mankind had already been put together ever before God created the heavens and earth. Two thousand years ago, Jesus only came to fulfil it. The fall of Adam did not take God by surprise and God did not reacted to it but responds to it.

Rev 13:8 KJV And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

We have to set goals and it has to be SMART goals. Many times Christian do make goals, but they hardly achieved their goals, their dreams doesn’t comes to pass and it fails. Why do plan fails and why is it that Christians are not able to fulfil their goals in life? Study has been done and it was found that only 8% of those who set New Year goals actually achieve them, meaning 92% who set new year goals fail. Why is that? Some will say in the new year, they will lose weight, they will go on vacation, they will but their first house, they will stop a negative habit and so many goals but the sad thing is that some may start but they don’t always finish and achieved them. The problem with “hoping” and “wishing” for something is that there is no plan, no purpose, and no time frame set for achieving the goals.
Once these hopes and wishes come face-to-face with the realities of daily life, they soon dissolve into lost hopes and wishful thinking. So, in order to really achieve something, you need a concrete goal: a SMART goal.
When goals are not set, and the realities of life sets in, those wishes and hopes will fade out of window.

What Are SMART Goals?
The foundation of all successfully accomplished goals is the SMART goal. Originally conceived by George T. Doran in a 1981 paper, this formula has been used in various forms ever since. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. It has been used by corporations and individuals to achieve their goals and objectives and is a formula that, on the whole, works well.

SMART GOALS IN THE BIBLE

IN JOSEPH TIME
Pharaoh had dream of what will be taking place on earth. He wanted interpretation for his dream but unfortunately, there was nobody that could interpret the dream among his philosophers, magicians and astrologers. Joseph was remembered by the Chief Butler who had an encountered with Joseph in the prison two years back. he recommended Joseph and this is what Joseph said to Pharaoh:

Gen 41:33-36 KJV 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

The plan was specific, they have to gather the harvest of the plenty years and laid them up in barns against seven years of famine to come.

Gen 41:48-49 KJV 48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

David made preparation for the building of the temple, even though he had it in mind to build but God said he won’t be the one building it but his son. yet despite he had the blueprint which he handed over to Solomon his son. He also made all the people to made contribution for the temple.

1Chr 22:14-19 KJV 14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. 15 Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. 16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee. 17 David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18 Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people. 19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.

This is what Jesus said about making plans and goals for anything you want to achieve in life:

Luk 14:28-32 KJV 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

The Lord Jesus said He came in the volume of books that were written of Him. Things were documented before He came and plans were executed accordingly and as per time.
Heb 10:7 KJV Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Gal 4:4 KJV But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

HOW TO SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS
Specific
One of the things i have discovered is that people are too generic when dealing with issues of life. they cannot be very specific about what they want. They know that they want something but to be specific is the problem. Many people that got their answers to prayes in the Bible were very specific on what they wanted.
Solomon was asked what should be done for him, he did not beat around the bush but straight told God that he needs wisdom.

1Ki 3:9 KJV Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

Blind Bartimeaus was asked what he wanted and he said that he may receives his sight.

Mark 10:51 KJV And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

if you remember Hannah’s prayer in the temple, she specifically mentioned a “man child”

1Sa 1:11 KJV And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

She knew what she wanted and why. She could have asked for any child. Who says people don’t have a choice?
The principle of being specific in what we do and in this goal settings can not be overemphasized.
For a goal to be achievable, it needs to have a very clear outcome. What you are asking is “What exactly do I want to achieve here?” The clearer the goal, the more likely it is you will achieve it. For example, if you just say “I want to lose weight,” then technically you could achieve your goal just by not eating dinner for one day—you would lose weight that way, even if it were temporary.You need to have a more specific goal: “I want to lose twenty-pounds by the end of July this year.”

Measurable
To achieve anything, it’s important to have measurable goals. Take the example above: “I want to lose twenty-pounds by the end of July this year.” It’s measurable.All you need do is weigh yourself on 1 January, then deduct twenty-pounds from that and set that weight as the target for 31 July. Then, each week you weigh yourself to measure progress.
you set that goal: I want to 10x my revenue in the next six months. So, the measure of that goal is the revenue. What your revenue is now, what you want it to be in the next six months, and then you can actually measure how you’re getting towards that goal. You can manage what you measure. That’s why it’s important to have those numbers attached to that goal, so you have a specific goal that you can measure, so you know where you’re going, if you’re heading in the right direction or not. Because if you can’t measure it, how do you really know which course you’re on. The measurement is actually what helps plot that course. It helps plot the direction of whether or not you’re actually headed towards your goal destination or not.

Attainable
Our God is a big God and He expects us not to limit Him by our small thinking. We should think big, plan big and set great goals. But at the same time make sure they are attainable. Being attainable means that the goal is realistic and that you have what you need in order to achieve this goal. In our example of losing weight, 20 pounds in six months is certainly doable. Your resources could include a gym membership, some at-home weights, or simply motivation to get outside and run everyday.
Setting an achievable goal means choosing an objective that, while it requires you to push yourself, is also attainable. If you pick a goal that you know is outrageous – say you’re currently earning $30,000 and want to earn $5 million next year – you’re most likely going to come up short of your goal. When you create a goal that’s too lofty, it can seem impossible, and you may eventually give up.

Relevant
When you’re looking at these goals, make sure that they’re realistic and relevant. One, do they make sense for your business and does it makes sense for your business to go after this specific goal? Is it realistic? Is it something, again, that’s attainable. Is it something that you can achieve, that is able to be done in your industry.
For any goal to be achieved, you need to set relevant goals for your unique life. If losing weight is doable with the lifestyle you have, and if you believe it will lead to a happier, healthier life, then it is certainly relevant to you. It’s even more relevant if your doctor has pointed out that you need to lose weight to prevent health issues.
If other people have more say than you then you will not be able to achieve your goal. you must be able to have control over it so far it is relevant and unique to you.

Time -based
Finally, you need a timeline. All your goals need to have an end date because it creates a sense of urgency and gives you a deadline. In our example of losing twenty-pounds, a timeline of six months would be specific, measurable, relevant, and would have a timeline.
You want to make sure that you can end this goal process, that it’s restricted within a time because if there’s no end point the goal really can never be achieved because you don’t know if you’ve arrived. Also, by putting yourself into a time frame, it’s going to help restrict you and put a little bit of pressure on you and some good stress. Not stress, eustress, which is good stress and it can push you into doing things and stretching yourself a little bit more than you maybe would have if you hadn’t put yourself in those time constraints.
Making sure that your goals have a beginning and an end allows you to test and see what you’ve done and see if it was effective and help you go back and say, okay, well, maybe we didn’t get it all the way but this is maybe why. As we set up our next set of goals maybe we can readjust and see if we can’t hit it this time around.

HOW TO WRITE SMART GOALS
Now that you have answers to the question of what are SMART goals, let’s look at how to write SMART goals step by step.

STEP 1: WRITE IT DOWN
Hab 2:2 KJV And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

Several times in the Bible the prophets were told to write their visions down and thank God they did that because it was what they wrote that gives us the scripture today. That is even spiritual vision but the same principle apply to vision for your life, you have to write it down.
According to a study conducted at the Dominican University in California, those who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them. Whether you write your SMART goals in a journal, enter them into an app or type them into a Word document, make sure they are documented. Then run through the checklist of ensuring your goals are following the SMART outline: Are you phrasing the goal to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic within a time frame? Chunk down your goals into smaller, actionable items and then prioritize which actions you’ll take next. This will help you create a Massive Action Plan that leads to success.

I will [STATE GOAL CLEARLY] by [DATE YOU WANT TO COMPLETE THE GOAL] because [YOUR WHY].
If you want to write a SMART goal for the weight loss example, your mission statement would be written: “I will lose twenty-pounds by the end of July this year because I want to look and feel fantastic by the pool in Ibiza.” Never write a mission statement that is full of vague words. The words you use should be simple, direct, and clear.

  1. Figure Out Your “How”
    Before you can begin achieving your goal, you need to create a list of steps you can take to make it happen. Write down everything you can think of that will help achieve your goal. It doesn’t matter what order you write these tasks down; what matters is that you write down as many action steps you can think of. For instance I always aim for around one hundred small steps. This makes it much easier to assign tasks for each day that not only moves you forward on your goal, but also keeps you focused every day on achieving the goal.
    STEP 2: CHECK IN REGULARLY
    Pro 4:26 KJV Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
    How long will it take you to reach your SMART goals? How do you know if you’re falling off track? Regular check-ins allow you to evaluate your progress and course-correct when necessary. If you’re not bee-lining toward your goal, you need to know exactly when you made that left turn. Check in early and often to catch any changes in your progress, which will give you a chance to transform the setback into a success.
    STEP 3: CELEBRATE EVERY WIN
    Ecc 3:22 KJV Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
    When you celebrate wins – even the small ones – your brain gets a boost of dopamine and you get re -energized. If you’re working on professional SMART goals, celebrate small wins with your team. Personal successes? Celebrate with your friends or family. After you’ve celebrated, get right back on track so you can work toward celebrating the next win.
    WHAT YOU NEED AFTER SETTING GOALS- SMART GOALS
    Patience:
    You need patience to be able to achieve your goals. sometimes things doesn’t go as expected or they may derail a little, but you got to be patience even with people around you. They will help you make your goal coming to pass.
    Heb 6:12 KJV That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
    Without patience, you will give up. To achieve anything worthwhile requires patience. Success does not happen overnight. Be patient and enjoy the process of stepping a little closer towards achieving your goal each day.
    Focus
    It is very easy to distracted and carried away with success and opposition. Nehemiah was so focused and determined that no matter what the opposition did, he refused to give up. If you are distracted with early success of your dreams, you may end up not completing them. Past success or failure can hinder you and make you lost focus.
    Phi 3:13 KJV 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,
    Set your eyes on your goal and let nothing or no man distracts you
    Stay away from discouragement
    One of the ways b which your goals can be derailed, stopped totally and destroyed is to associate with the discouraging people. There is room for constructive critisicim but when negative people are around you then the dream is as good as gone.
    Seek counsel and inputs
    Pro 15:22 KJV Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
    Wisdom is profitable to direct, seek wisdom of people that have done what you are trying to do or are in it already, you will lean from their success and mistakes.
    Action
    If you do not take action on any goal, then no goal will be achieved. You need to make sure each day you remind yourself of your goal and why you want to achieve it. Read your mission statement, and then take the necessary action to make sure you move a step closer each day. Back your word with action. Don’t procrastinate, it is a thief of time.
    Consistency
    The action you take each day towards achieving your goal needs to be consistent. You can’t follow your diet program for a week and then have three weeks off. It does not work like that. Jim Rohn said it perfectly when he said:
    “Success is a few simple disciplines practised every day.”
    Time
    Of course, you need to allow enough time between where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Be realistic about time, and don’t get disheartened if you miss your deadline. Readjust your timeline if necessary.
    Be Prayerful
    With God all things are possible. God should be the originator of the goals you are setting and if it is Him, H e will help fulfil it. He helped Nehemiah despite the opposition.
    The Lord Jesus said for without me you can do nothing, praise God we are always with and in Him and so we can do all things through His enabling power and ability.

4 Replies to “Setting SMART goals for success”

  1. Aurelio

    Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed!
    Very useful info specifically the last part 🙂 I care for such info
    a lot. I was looking for this particular info for a very long time.

    Thank you and good luck. ep (Aurelio)

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