BENEFITS OF GOAL SETTING- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Goal Setting: How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals (Worksmart)TODAY: Thursday 14 January


TOPIC: BENEFITS OF GOAL-SETTING

MEMORIZE: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise” (Eph. 5:15)

READ: Ephesians 5: 14-17

“For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4: 15)

Goal-setting is advantageous to the goal-setter. You must not take on any assignment be it spiritual or secular without setting clearly defined goals. There are several benefits you can derive from setting goals: It gives the goal-setter a sense of purpose and direction. A goalless life is a purposeless life. Also, it gives you something to live for in the face of opposition and difficulties. Goals also act as the benchmarks against which performance or non-performance is measured. When you evaluate your activities over a period viz-a-viz the set goals, it will become easy to determine your level of performance. Measurement of performance is difficult and subjective if not done in relation to set goals. In addition, goals help to minimize waste and make you a better time manager. You will observe that the one without goals appear to have too much of time, while the goal-setter has too little time to achieve his goals. So, while the former is wasting time, the latter is effectively utilizing his time. Moreover, goal-setting helps you manage all your resources effectively – whether financial, intellectual or material resources.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise” (Eph. 5:15). As a result of being able to manage time more efficiently, a goal-setter is termed a wise person. The one who operates without goals is only being foolish. A goal-setter is able to live a more careful and disciplined life while the non-goal-setter lives a carefree and indiscipline life. The word ‘circumspectly’ involves thinking very carefully about something before doing it, in a bid to avoid certain risks. The goal-setter is able to avoid the foolish risks that non-goal-setters could be trapped in. If you consider the Greek translation of the word ‘circumspectly’ –akribos, it means something perfect. This means that the goal-setter is more likely to attain perfection than his or her non-goal-setting counterpart. Living a planned, disciplined and time-bound life helps you live a life of holiness. Do you plan regularly?

ACTION POINT: Are you following the goals you set for year 2010?