Project Purpose: Find Your Why to Find Your Wayናሙና

Set Your Goals!

For many people, this part of goal setting is difficult and problematic. They know what they want to do and are willing to work on it, but they have trouble creating a plan to get there. And when they are not getting any results, they quit working at whatever it is and give up on whatever goal they have set. Does this sound familiar?

A lot of people are good with ideas but are poor at execution. What you want to do is close the gap between the end result you want and where you are now with a plan. A strategy gives you a roadmap on how to fulfill your purpose by breaking it down into bite-sized goals that are SMART: that is, stated in specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound terms.

Consider your purpose statement. What are your possible vehicles to fulfill this? What are possible steps to contribute to their fulfillment? How would these look in terms of bite-sized goals? Create a well thought out strategy and plan. Identify the process you need to go through. Review your available resources and include in your strategizing how you would provide the resources you would need to support the fulfillment of your goals.

Start developing your strategy now. Write it down. But also start taking action! Remember,

Goal + Action = Success

Maybe we all can relate with the saying, “The thing that I want to do I do not do.” The difference between successful and non-successful people is some execute and some do not.

So take action and be consistent! Do not procrastinate.

Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Breaking your long-term and life goals into bite-sized milestones will make it easier for you and less overwhelming. Build in reminders to keep yourself on track. Start your day always by envisioning and planning how to achieve your goals. If you can’t devote 15 minutes to write your goals every day, they will just remain wishes or fleeting hopes to achieve eventually.

Have you ever experienced at the start of the year listing down your New Year’s resolutions and weeks after forgetting all about it? Well, I have—every year! I believe everyone can relate to this one way or another.

When I started pursuing my purpose, there were so many adjustments to be made that I didn’t know where to start. These next three steps should help you streamline your activities and resources so that you can pursue your overall purpose with focus and intentionality.

This step-by-step process should help you destroy the cycle of purposeful planning and then abandonment and neglect.

Begin with an inventory of what you have right now. This may include existing activities, habits, items, networks and relationships, habits—even plans and your bite-sized goals. Assess each one in relation to your overall purpose and vision and see if you need to remove them, retain them, or resolve to take on new actions or directions.

REMOVE 

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13, 14 ESV

We often hear that one thing constant in life is change. Sometimes, we need to change or remove certain things in our lives for us to mature or grow—a habit, behavior, an item, or even a relationship that is detrimental to us progressing and achieving our life goals. God may even signal a change in our lives by purposefully ending a chapter in your life and introducing a new one.

What do you need to remove? What are some things you need to let go?

Try to observe the variables around your life. What are becoming barriers to you moving forward? For example, if you wish to be fit and healthier, one of your goals should be to eat less and exercise more. You could definitely stop overindulging in food. On the other hand, what about exercise? You might think that you don’t have enough time but look into your situation more intently. Why don’t you have enough time? Not having time might not be the problem but instead, how you use your time. What’s using it all up? If it’s not working too much or spending lazy hours watching TV or surfing the Internet, then that’s the root cause of the problem. Identify the root cause, then solve it. You know now what activities to remove so that you can give way to those that need your time. Even your “me time” could be wisely spent on productive activity and productive rest.

While you need to be proactive in moving toward fulfilling your purpose, don’t be hasty in removing things from your life either. Don’t just resign from your current job, thinking that by doing so, you would have more time in pursuing your life goals. Consider your situation holistically and carefully. For instance, you want to be a consultant in your field and want to get out of employment. Do you already have what it takes to be considered an authority in your field? Perhaps you still need experience, credentials, the network, and income you can rest on during lean months. So, what will you do in the meantime? If your job is in the same field where you eventually want to be a consultant, perhaps you can use your current situation for learning, molding your character, skill-building, getting mentored, networking, building your credentials, and building your savings. Be purposeful even now, then give yourself a timeframe for your plans. How much time will you give yourself in your current job? What are some attitudes or habits you need to let go of in the meantime? Do you need to let go of your passivity or restlessness for now and be more deliberate and determined? What are your considerations for determining when to take your next step?

To recap, in preparing to change or remove certain things from your life, consider things carefully and holistically, making sure to root out what currently hinders your growth. Begin by seeing if what needs to be changed is something outside of you (like your current situation), or something internal (like an attitude you need to change). Give careful consideration too to the best time to carry out these changes.

RETAIN 

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 ESV

What do you need to retain? What are some things you’d like to keep doing? These are things that have proven effective to you in reaching your goal. If these activities are clearly aligned with fulfilling your purpose and reaching your goals, and they went well, you need to keep them. There are things that you really don’t need to change.

Last summer, I did some spring cleaning and sifted and sorted through my stuff. Books that have been influential to shaping my mindset, particularly when we formed Project Purpose—like The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren and Start with WHY by Simon Sinek—I kept so that I can refer to them again and again, especially when we teach or mentor others.

From your inventory, list three things that you would like to retain in your life right now in relation to your overall purpose and vision. This will also be a good opportunity to be grateful and satisfied for what you have.

RESOLVE

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. Philippians 4:1 ESV

Now that you’ve realized what to keep and what to let go, it’s time to look for the gaps. What is missing? What is lacking? What are some things you would like to add so that you can move more purposefully toward fulfilling your purpose?

Time to make some resolutions!

We love making resolutions at the start of every new year, at the beginning of a new job, or as we enter a new phase in our lives. We often celebrate a fresh start by making the choice to take on changes in our lives. Just like in our earlier illustration, at times, getting to our destination might require us to reconsider changing our mode of transportation to take us where we need to go. One option might take us faster to our destination but would prove costlier compared to another option that may require several stops before reaching the destination. We should base our decision on what’s relevant, of value, and of necessity. One resolve I personally made was to buy books that would help me grow in influence and leadership since that’s where my purpose is leading me now.

What are three new things you’d like to do that will help you reach your goals? What’s missing? What’s lacking? What do you need to further advance your purpose in life? Make sure of its relevance, value, and necessity.