Living Purposefully

I have been reading the Bible through this year. I set it as a goal at the beginning of the year and though sometimes I fall behind, I am pretty sure that I will be done by December 31st. I was thinking about this the other day and the Lord started up a conversation with me. He let me know that the reason I was able to complete the Bible in a year is because I had a reading plan that I followed daily. This reading plan made it possible for me to accomplish this great feat.

He started asking me what would happen if I committed myself for one year in different areas. What if I set goals for next year and began preparing how I would accomplish them? I thought to myself "I would achieve so much!!!"

My best friend and I have decided to take on the challenge and to begin setting goals for next year and putting in place whatever we need to ensure that we follow through. One of my goals is health and fitness. That means that I have to begin working on meal plans and exercise regimes now. I am also psychologically preparing myself to commit to the plan I lay out for one whole year.

I would like to extend this goal setting challenge to you as well. Here is where we begin. Set 3 year goals.

1. Set 5 business and career goals (e.g. Raise my income by 30% by year 3, Save 250,000 of my income so I can start my own business 3 years from now, ...)

2. Set 5 personal development goals (e.g. read 36 books in 3 years, taking 5 courses at the British Council per year, Have my Masters by Dec 2012 etc...)

3. Set 5 personal goals (Health and fitness, reading the Bible through in a year, going out and making new friends, evangelizing two weekends a month...)

This is the first step. Then under each goal write out the steps you will take to achieve the goal. Make it manageable so that you are not overwhelmed. After that is done, Break it down year by year. What will you do in 2010, 2011 and 2012?

That done, take the year 2010 and break down your goals for that year into Months. e.g. Save 10% of my income per month, read 1 non fiction book per month etc...Set yourself Monthly targets.

Now take the month of January and divide it into weeks. e.g. work out 4 times a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 6 am - 7 am or Read 3 chapters of my non fiction book etc...

Take up the challenge. See how it goes. I bet you will make way more progress than you have ever made before. Don't live your life without purpose. Give it purpose by setting achievable goals that stretch you into the next level.