A sense of security and predictability
A good coach will always have a goal, a game plan, an end result that they’re shooting for when they get on the court. Sometimes those goals will change, but if you start without a goal, you’re going to wander. We call that the unintentional life.
Let’s look at goals, one of the four pillars from the power of one thing, which are so important when it comes to being intentional.
1. Establish a goal.
Make sure that you have clear goals and priorities. If you get off course, even one degree, it really can take you in the wrong direction quickly. If you walk for a mile, stepping just one degree off from the original path, you’ll find yourself 92 feet from the point you should have been on your direct course.
That’s why we talk about fixing problems early on, not waiting for months and years. But if you continue on that path of one degree off for 60 miles, that’s a little more difficult to get to the original path that you wanted to be on.
So, where do you start? Stop going down the path you’re on now. Sometimes it takes time, but you’re heading in the right direction. You’re going back to get toward the goal that you originally set.
What are some goals you have?
- Maybe you wanted to be out of debt and by the time you reached retirement age, but now you’re 45 years old and realize you haven’t saved a dime. Choose to move in a new direction.
- Perhaps you’re struggling with your goal to have a marriage last a lifetime – until death do we part. But you’re 10 years in and discouraged. Love existed at some point. Go back to that first love and decide to move together in a new direction. (Don’t be afraid to ask for professional help.)
- You feel stuck in your career, and you’ve always felt God had another plan for you. But you’re saying, hey, you know, I’m 40 years old. It’s never too late to set a goal and start to move in a new direction.
Without a goal, we end up living an unintentional life. And you could tell if you’re living unintentionally because you tend to feel weary, overwhelmed and frustrated at the end of the day. And if you’re experiencing those kinds of feelings, I really recommend you establish a goal.
We all need to have goals in each of the five essential areas of our life – family, finances, work, health and faith.
2. Understand Habits
A habit is something that we do without thinking. And according to research, about 40% of what we do every day is habitual (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 83, No. 6, 2002).
It’s like riding a bike. If you’ve ridden a bike for many years, you don’t think about it. You get on and you ride. The problem is we often develop bad habits. They get just as easily developed. In fact, I think more easily in our life than the good habits.
Here are four questions to think about your personal habits:
- What habits do you have that are driving the people that you love crazy?
The reason I ask is because those may be habits that are not healthy for you.
2. What habits do you keep private?
If they are not honoring to God, they are not beneficial to you because habits are either an addition to or a subtraction from your life.
3. Are you allowing habits to control your life? And if so, how?
Look at how they are impacting your life; notice if the result is positive or negative?
4. What are your personal habits doing to your relationships?
How Habits Are Formed
Habits typically form by a desire, and usually that desire is attached to some trigger. For me – and I’m just being transparent – when I’m, frustrated, tired or lonely, that can trigger me going to eat something I shouldn’t eat.
And so, if we want to change a habit, we need to ask God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to give us the courage and strength to change – to go a different direction.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV). I wonder if Paul could have also said, God has not given you a spirit of bad habits.
The power that comes from the Holy Spirit of love – love for God, focus on God, understanding that you do what you do because of your love for Him and His love for you – and then a sound mind, telling yourself the truth, like Paul says in Philippians 4:8. ” Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (NKJV). When we do that, it becomes transformational in our life.
What one thing could you do in the next 30 days to begin to develop better habits in your life for God’s glory and for your benefit?
BONUS TEACHING FOR EXCLUSIVE MEMBERS!
Both teachings are available exclusively to you as thanks for your faithful monthly support to reach people all over the world through Intentional Living radio programming and other resources.
Read more encouraging blogs from Intentional Living here.
