Goal
Setting: Setting Your Course for
Fulfillment
by Annette Capps
I
have always thought of goal setting as a discipline that made you work for that
you wanted. Until I attended a seminar on goal setting a few years ago, I never
set goals. It was too much trouble! Besides that, it made me feel guilty and
pressured!
As
I participated in this seminar, I did list the things that I wanted to see
happen in the next year and even 5 years down the road. I did not work
consciously towards the goals, but I had written them down 2 or 3 times.
Imagine my amazement when I looked at my list 6 months later and had several of
those goals!
What
I began to realize was that I had planted a seed and it grew to fruition!
"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into
the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should
spring and grow up, he knoweth not how." Mark
4:26-27
The
seed sprung up and I didn't know how it happened! My spirit received the desire
that I set to achieve and sought the means of fulfillment. The goals that I
wrote down set the course.
My
previous experience with setting goals felt like work....write it down and work
like crazy to make it happen. Not only
that, but make it happen in a certain period of time! Imagine if we planted a garden that way! Plant the seed and stay with it constantly,
watering, checking, digging it up to see how it is doing every day. More often than not, this is how we think
life works. Ever seen the slogan,
"Life is hard"? If you believe
that, it will be.
Jesus
had a different idea and taught the principle of planting seeds. He used the analogy of a person who plants
the seed and basically forgets about it or at least goes about business and
doesn't worry about it. The seed has the
power to spring forth after being planted in the warmth of the soil. It doesn't matter if the seed planter knows
how this all works or not. Likewise,
when you write down a desire you have, you do not need to know how it will
happen. Just like the seed, the desire
when planted on paper or spoken with your mouth into your heart, will grow up
and manifest in your life.
Define Your Desires
When I say "define your desires", you probably automatically go to a "want" list of objects or positions, or relationships. I would like to offer another option. Redefine your want list into principle ideas. Rather than
"I want $XXXX.XX
income per month", "I want to be healed of __", "I want a
job at ___", "I want support from friends and family", which I
call a want list, turn into a desire list:
- To walk in financial
abundance, having more than enough
- To live in divine
health
- To be in a vocation
than is fulfilling
- To feel supported
emotionally
What
is the difference? If you
"want" something, you live in "want". Also, the "want" list is very
limiting. If you want $xxxx.xx dollars
per month, you are limiting. Wanting to
be healed is a goal based on sickness. In order to "be healed" you
have to be sick first. If you want
support from friends and family, you are indicating that is the only source of
support. How many times have you limited
the ways God could answer your prayer?
Walking
in financial abundance, living in divine health, being in a fulfilling
vocation, and feeling emotionally supported opens the door for unlimited
blessing.
What
are your desires? I encourage you to write them down, redefine them, and then
commit them to God.
"Roll
your works upon the Lord---commit and trust them wholly to Him; [He will cause
your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be
established and succeed." Proverbs 16:3 Amplified Version
Watch
in amazement, as I did, at how God brings them to pass.
Tapping Your Hidden
Resources
"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the
desires of thine heart" Psalm 37:4
The
word 'delight' in the scripture is often associated with worship or praise;
however, the Hebrew word has a much different meaning.
The
Hebrew word here is anag, which means 'pliable or delicate'. We could actually
translate this into modern usage with the word 'flexible'.
To
be "flexible" or "pliable" opens you up to infinite quantum
possibilities. By being too specific in
just how you want things to be, you can eliminate God's highest and best for
your life.
For
instance: What if you lost your job at Company A and unable to find other
employment, you began to email friends about your status. Amazingly, there is a job opening at a
Company B where your best friend works! You always wanted to work there but
didn't feel you were qualified. Sounds
like God, doesn't it? So you begin to
confess that the job is yours. You pray
that the interview goes well and that God moves all obstacles so that you will
be hired. Now you are completely focused
on getting this job and no longer pursue any other avenues because by all
appearance, this is the one.
"There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight
before him, but at the end of it are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25 Amplified Version
Once
you made up your mind, you became "inflexible". Notice it was your mind that you made up. There is a difference between the reasoning
mind and the leading of the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. Reason will lead you to what
"looks" best, "sounds" best, or is
"logical". But reason cannot,
and will not fulfill the desires of your heart.
Desperation for a job or anything will trigger your reasoning mind to go
after appearances.
It
is OK to pursue what you believe is right as long as you remain flexible and
open to change. It is a good idea to
keep all avenues and options open for God's best in your life.
Follow Your Heart
Following
your heart, you may find that something just doesn't "feel" right
about taking this job. There is no
logical explanation why you should not, but your heart is telling you
something.
I
personally observed someone go through a very similar situation. Two companies
were pursuing this individual and one company offered a higher salary, more
prestige, and a bigger office! It looked good and appealed to the ego. It wasn't reasonable to take the other offer,
but the first one just did not feel right. Within a short time of employment at the
second company, raises and other benefits matched the first companies offer and
with all the growth, there was a new office.
The first company began laying off employees.
God
puts desires into your heart. This is
what you follow, your heart not your head.
This is the inward witness of the Holy Spirit gently guiding you.
Your Intent
Once
you have made a "want" list, redefined it into principles, ask
yourself, "As I walk and live in these principles, where do I see myself
in 1 year, then 5 years. Jot it down
quickly without analyzing it. Do it
again a week or two later without looking at the old list. Include personal goals, spiritual goals,
financial goals, relationship goals, and health and fitness goals. By doing so, you are setting your intent.
Having
a love of animals, I once studied a course on horse training. This theory of this training turned out to be
more of "people training". It
turns out there wasn't much wrong with the horses, they were only doing what
the riders were subconsciously telling them to do. One illustration was particularly impressive
to me because I experienced it many times.
The trainer told the riders to only look where they wanted to go because
the horse will go where you are looking.
Although I had experienced this, it still sounded strange but I tried an
experiment. I rode quietly and without
body input or movement, I averted my eyes to another path and the horse
turned. I repeated this until I was
certain there were no other clues.
This
is what goal setting does. By writing
your intent on paper, you are turning where you look and setting a place to
go. Your spirit brings it to pass and
you don't know how.
"Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your
gaze be straight before you." Proverbs 4:25 Amplified Version
God will not only grant us our desires, but if we have spiritual flexibility, He will put his desires in our heart and we will be one with God's plan and purpose. His plan always succeeds!
Annette Capps
www.charlescapps.com