PROCESSING the GOAL

Countless books and articles have been written about the need for specific goal setting. Someone once said that without goals there can be no achievement — so we’re encouraged to make a detailed list of everything we want, from professional achievements to material acquisitions. 

The problem with this way of thinking is that it gets us focused on the wrong thing. We become successful not by eyeing the destination, but by tending to the details of the journey. Yes, it’s good to know where you’re going, so goal-setting has its place. More important, however, is the route we take in getting there. 

In the last several years I've changed the way I go about setting goals. Mine are no longer defined by the target, because I can’t control the target. Targets tend to move and moving targets have a way of being missed. But I can control the process; I can control the steps I take.

It’s this way in all phases of life. A salesman can’t control his income, but he can control how many calls he makes, and how well he knows his presentation. An athlete can’t control the final score, but he can control how he gets ready for the game and how hard he plays. Parents can’t control the decisions their grown children make, but they can control the amount of time, love, patience and forgiveness they pour into their children’s lives.

Paul said to Timothy, "If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work." (2 Timothy 2:21)

Theologian Henri Nouwen once said, "We cannot make it rain, but we can see to it that the rain falls on prepared soil." To be honest, this is as far as our contribution to success goes. Our job is to get the soil ready for the rain of God’s blessings. The rest is up to him.

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