5 Steps To Become A Goal Achiever In The New Year

Do you desire to not only set goals but also become a goal achiever in 2019? Well, what if I told you there is a simple formula you can follow to do this. Several years ago, I learnt from Christine Kane who runs large vision board workshops a concept called WORD OF THE YEAR. Please check out this post and find out how you too can craft your word of the year. Another thing I learnt from Christine was if you want to have a successful year, you need to prepare for it in the last quarter of the previous year. Since learning these concepts, I have so far had two words of the year. In 2017, my word was GROWTH. In 2018, my word is SIMPLICITY.

In addition to having a word for each year, there are 5 simple steps I have followed to ensure I not only set goals for the year but also go ahead and achieve them. Given the fact that my values are rooted in the Bible, all five of these steps draw their existence from scripture. I strongly believe that as Christians, we were meant to live an abundant life both here on earth and in eternity. If you follow these steps, you too can be able to experience the abundant life referred to in John 10:10.

#1. The First step to become a Goal Achiever is to DELIGHT in the LORD.

In Psalms 37:4 we read “take DELIGHT in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires”. NLT Version.

According to my Application Study Bible, “to delight in someone means to experience great pleasure and joy in his or her presence”. You will agree with me that this can only happen when you have a certain familiarity with that person. In order for this to happen, you need to spend a lot of time with that person. Therefore, in my view in order for us to delight in the LORD, we need to make time to know Him. We need to study His word and discover the promises He has for us and claim them. In addition, we need to remember that He calls us His children and promises to walk with us on the journey of life. We need to have a father/child relationship with Him and go to Him with ANY needs and trust that He will fulfill our needs.

#2. The Second step to become A Goal Achiever is to have DESIRES.

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines the word desire as “a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen”. We have read from the scripture above that once you delight in the LORD, then He will give you the desires of your heart. From the description of this word, we can tell that it is a verb. This means there is some sort of action that has to take place on our part.

In my view, when we set goals we are painting a clear picture of what we desire. Anyone of us is capable of setting goals. The test though is in going ahead to accomplish those goals. I have written about how you can set goals effectively and ensure you accomplish them. There are several reasons why people fail to accomplish their goals and if you know them you can avoid being in this group.

I strongly believe when we set goals that flow from our desires, the chances of us accomplishing them are high. Please check out my workbook that takes you through three simple steps to move from being a goal setter to becoming a goal achiever.

Another concept that can help as you think about your desires is the use of vision boards. I have shared why you need to have a vision board for each year and how to create one. Ever since I embraced this concept about three years ago I have seen God work in mysterious ways to bring to life the things I have placed on my board. For instance, in December 2015 I set a five-year goal for us to be residing in South Africa. This year when we least expected it to happen, my Husband was given an opportunity to relocate and work in the South African office of his organization.

In addition, when I looked at my vision board for 2017 and compared the kitchen I had envisioned then and the one we have today, they are both strikingly similar. So yes please go ahead and create visions of what you desire.

The concepts of goal setting and vision boards also appear in scripture. In Habakkuk 2:3, God instructs Habakkuk to write down plainly what he sees. What has the LORD placed on your heart? Please write it down and wait patiently for it. Some of our desires may not be fulfilled in our generation. However, how beautiful it will be for the next generation to behold your desires and see how faithful our God can be. In Numbers 23: 19 we read that God is not a human being to change His mind or to lie. He has promised and He will fulfill. He has promised to grant our desires so go ahead and set forth your desires.

# 3. The Third step to become A Goal Achiever is to ASK.

Can you imagine what would happen if your child saw something they liked and never told you about it? Instead, every day they look sad because they know what they would like to have but are not asking you to give it to them. In the same way, when we desire but do not ask God to give us our hearts desires we are like the child that sees a toy they like but fails to ask their parents to get it for them.

It is not enough to live with desires, you need to go ahead and ask our Heavenly Father to grant you your desires. In Mathew 7: 7 – 11 we read about the concept of asking. What have you desired? Is it knowledge, joy, peace, wealth or good health? Jesus Christ tells us to ask and we shall receive.

In the book of James, 4:3 we discover some of the most common problems in prayer. The first is not asking the second is asking for the wrong things and finally asking with the wrong motives. In my view, when you always delight in the LORD, you will avoid these 3 pitfalls. This is because you will have desires that correspond with what is God’s will for your life. In my workbook on becoming a goal achiever, I tackle this and help you to come up with the right desires.

While you are asking God for your desires, you need to remove any limitations you may have. Remember in Mathew 7: 9 -11 we see that God delights in giving us good gifts. In view of this, keep your focus on what you want. Avoid thinking about the how or the when. Those are the work of God. What I know for sure is that Jesus Christ delights in fulfilling our petitions so that God is glorified. In order for you to have a story to tell, you need a history to draw from. Let us, therefore, remove all limitations off God and watch Him grant what we ASK for.

# 4. The Fourth step to become A Goal Achiever is to BELIEVE. 

In Mark 11:24, we read that if we believe that what we have prayed for is ours then we shall receive it. I have found that to help me strengthen my believing, I need to use affirmations. In my view, affirmations are simply statements that help us do what Romans 4:17 asks us to do which is to “call those things that be not as though they are”. You can download a copy of my powerful affirmations based on scripture.

In addition to affirmations, another thing that can help you believe you will get what you have desired and asked for is to have the right friends. Jesus Christ our LORD and Saviour had 12 disciples. However, we read in scripture that out of the 12 he chose Peter, James, and John as His closet friends. He showed us a good example that out of the many you need a few to be close to you. These are the people who are going to encourage you when the storms of life come and you feel like giving up. It is your inner circle that will help you keep believing as you wait for your miracle to manifest.

# 5. The Fifth step to become A Goal Achiever is to WAIT PATIENTLY.

In step 3 above, we discovered that when you ask, you should not worry about the how and the when. We read in Philippians 4: 6 – 7 that as Christians, we were meant to live a life free of worry and anxiety. Many times when we desire and ask, instead of resting in God’s peace we begin to make plans of how we want what we have desired and asked for to manifest. This does nothing but steals our joy and peace. Instead, Paul cautions us to live a life of trust where we wait patiently for our requests and petitions to be met. Paul asks us to turn our worries into prayers. This in effect means if we want to live a life free of worries, we need to pray more. Every time you are tempted to worry while you are waiting patiently for what you have asked for, pray more instead.

I just love our God He too knew it would not be easy for us to wait patiently and that is why He promised us His peace that surpasses all understanding. This is the peace you feel when your rent is due and yet you do not see how you are going to be able to pay it. Or when you have so many cares but can still manage to worship and praise God. This is the peace that comes from knowing that God is in control and all we have to do is wait patiently.

 Finally,

As you may have observed from all these five steps, there is some kind of action required from you. Many times people fail to achieve their goals and live an abundant life simply because they do not want to do the work. Like I always say, “Action is what will produce your DESIRED RESULTS”. It does not matter how many sermons, workshops or seminars you attend. Unless you are ready to get your hands dirty, you will fail to see the results you desire. It takes work to delight then desire, ask, believe and waiting patiently. At every stage of these steps, there will be work to be done. Are you willing to do the work in order to have an abundant and fruitful year? Then download this workbook to help you create what you want for next year.