Making Goals

Do you ever make goals for yourself? It is something we are often taught about in school as children or something we preach to our own children when it comes to grades, colleges, and careers, but how often do we really sit down and make goals for our own spiritual lives? In my experience, people that make goals, check their progress, and revisit them often seem to get more of what they want out of life.

Goals do not need to be restricted to New Year’s Day or Lent. Saving goals for a specific start date often leads to discouragement, especially if we falter in reaching our goal. It is similar to someone quitting something cold turkey, and then thinking they are never going to change after they have a setback.

If you want to do something, start today.

If you have a setback, look at your goal and remember that progress is often two steps forward and one step back. A key to making great goals is to make them specific and measurable.

Common goals I hear are, “I want to be holier,” and, “I want to be a good person.” Ok, that’s great...but what does that look like? These goals are much too vague if we want to look at progress or measure success. Setting a goal of a daily Rosary, weight loss to a specific number, daily Mass attendance, and reading one book per month are all examples of specific goals that are measurable.

This week, consider making goals for yourself in areas that you want to improve such as your spiritual, intellectual, or work life! You might find yourself making progress in these areas that you did not think possible!