Quarterly Goals

When I was in college I started having quarterly goals for myself.  It was around this time that I was reading Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, and so it may have come from that book.  I write out goals for myself on January 1 for January February and March, and also again on April 1 for April May and June, and you get it, again on July 1 and October 1.  So sometimes I have written 7+ goals and by the end of that three months forgotten them all.  Other times I have decided to only write one goal – and sometimes I remember it and do it.  What kind of goals do I write?  I write goals based on who I am.  So usually at least one of my goals will have something to do with my personal time with God in the morning.  This is because over the years I have seen how important this time with God in the morning is for me.  Sometimes it is “Read the whole Bible in a year” divided up into four quarters.  Sometimes it is “Read the book of Haggai for a month, Zechariah the next month, and Malachi the next month.”  Sometimes I have a list of people I want to pray for every day while other times I have a form of prayer that I want to pray and other times a set amount of time to listen to God. 

Not all my goals have to do with my personal time with God, as one goal I made last year was to run a marathon in under three hours.  I ran it in 3:12, and though I did not meet my goal I am still glad I made the goal hard.  I learn most maybe by failing to achieve my goals.  I have also had goals that become habits.  My goals of reading one book a month has been generally one I continue to keep.

The great thing about goals comes when you evaluate them.  Did I actually accomplish this goal?  Sort of.  Okay, what do you mean by sort of Danny?  When goals are evaluated, so much can be learned.  So what goals do you have?