Now is the Time to Act on Your Goals

Act on Your Goals

What stops you from acting on your goals?

As we start each year there is often a measure of hope and anticipation. It can feel like a new start.

Somewhere along the way from planning and writing down the goals we hurdles or roadblocks that interfere with us acting on our goals. This inhibits the success we hope to accomplish personally and professionally.

Goals are an incredible way to move the needle toward growth but if we do not act on them then they remain just pretty words on paper. We understand this reality when we talk about our faith and the need for action and growth. James tells us in James 2:14-17,

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Jesus is displayed in our actions and deeds. Our actions reveal our goals and therefore our success.

It’s Showtime for your Goals

For many years I volunteered at the North Texas Rehabilitation Center including being asked to serve as the Chairman of the Board. One of the Rehab Center’s largest fundraisers is the Texas Ranch Roundup.

The Texas Ranch Roundup is the original ranch rodeo celebrating 35 years of showcasing historical Texas ranches, the hard work of true cowboys, and every facet of ranch life. One year there were ten participating Texas ranches.

At the ranch rodeo, there are several events where a horse, a cow, or a bull comes out of a chute. The “Wild Cow Milking” event was incredibly fun to watch and has the audience on the edge of their seats in anticipation waiting for the action.

Each four-man team has a roper, a “milker”, and two “muggers.” When the cow is released from the chute, it is “Showtime, Baby!” And all team members pursue the cow. Their skills and abilities on horseback are displayed because that cow really takes off.

Once the cow is roped, the two “muggers” try to hold the cow (it is fun to watch these cowboys try to hold on to the cow with their bare hands) while the “milker” milks the cow, filling a standard 12-ounce longneck bottle. Then the “milker” runs to the other end of the arena to give the judge the bottle. This is also fun to watch, as these bowlegged cowboys run in boots and spurs- high-stepping across the arena so fast that their hats fly off onto the dirt. The ranch team with the fastest time wins this event.

Over the past several weeks, I have been writing about personal goal-setting. Assuming you have by now written down your personal goals, it is now “Showtime, Baby!”  Much like the events at a Texas rodeo, it is now time for you to come out of the chute to “act” on your goals.

5 Steps to Act on Your Goals

Every person can take action and have the best year by taking the next five steps.

1. Act on Your Goal

The answer to the question “When do I start?” is NOW! Do not wait or get sidetracked in the minutia of “what ifs.” Act now on your goals. 

Just as you aren’t saved because of what you do, what you do reveals your faith or lack of faith in Jesus. James 1:23-25 states this truth,

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

We cannot just talk about making goals just as we cannot just be hearers of God’s Word. We need to act.

It is time to…

• Take that first baby step toward your goal.

• Focus on your highest priority/goal – your biggest rock.

• Have everything you think, say, and do move you toward your goal.

• Get on top of your highest priority/goal like a chicken on an egg!

“The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.” – John Maxwell Share on X

Best-selling author John Maxwell went on to say,

“Make the decision once…Then manage it daily.”

2. Boundaries with Your Goals

It is time to establish personal policies that are simple rules which help to define priorities and aid decision-making, especially with in-the-moment requests.

They will stop you from defaulting to that regretful “yes.” You’re not saying “no” to the person but simply upholding your boundary.

It is better to say “I don’t eat cake” rather than “I can’t eat cake.”  “I don’t” connotes a higher degree of conviction and makes it harder for someone to push back against your stated intention. And you’ll find that no one wants to argue with you because they’ll be afraid of hurting your feelings instead and violating your boundaries.

Also, it is better to tell yourself, “I don’t skip the gym.” versus “I can’t skip the gym.”  When a refusal and personal policy becomes a personal identity, “I’m someone who doesn’t skip the gym,” you improve your self-control, and it encourages you to stick to your goal.

3. Share Your Goals

As you pursue a goal, knowledge is your greatest ally. You benefit by involving others in your goals because it gives accessibility to experience, knowledge, and wisdom.

Useful knowledge obtained from people’s experiences allows you to build and maintain momentum.

Then share your goals with a trusted person in your life. This sharing creates accountability and recruits their support.

At the heart of accountability with your goals is the power of community. Submission to God’s Kingdom in all that you do, acknowledging the need for others. Paul shares about the power of God’s community and our need for one another in 1 Corinthians 12:26-27,

 ^“If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”

4. Evaluate Your Goals

We get what we inspect, not what we expect.

Inspection tells you…

• Where you are in relation to where you want to be.

• How you are doing in the process of pursuing your goals.

The purpose of inspecting expectations is to improve your performance and make you aware of performance gaps.

It is a time to calibrate and perhaps adjust and recalibrate. Remember this is a process, not an event.

When you inspect your progress and results, you will know when you deserve a good pat on the back for a job well done!

5. Celebrate Your Goals

It is time to celebrate when you achieve intermediate goals and victories as well as big achievements.

Celebrating achievements builds confidence and provides an incentive to further achievements. So don’t let your achievements and the feeling of victory evaporate without some kind of reward and recognition for yourself.

Remember that “Success is a series of small victories.” John C. Maxwell

Time to Circle the Wagons

Congratulations, now it is time to circle back to your next highest priority/goal – your next big rock. And begin the process over again.

“I know the price of success: Dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” – Frank Lloyd Wright Share on X

Why don’t you get started? The hardest part of any important task is getting started. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you will be naturally motivated to continue.

Related, Articles, Videos, and Podcast Episode

Have you read my earlier blog posts on goal setting? Here’s a list with a link to each post:

•  Your First Step to an Extraordinary New Year. Pause and reflect by asking, “Where have I been? and “Where am I now?”
• A Mindset to Accomplish Your Dreams. Dream and use six key “principles” to think as you are asking yourself “Where am I going?”
• 5 Tips to Accomplish your Goals. Get more done by using five tips to guide your thinking about your goals.
• Write Effective Goals for the New Year. Follow a simple two-step process to write effective goals

Free Live Group Coaching with Q&A for the Whole Community!

To help equip our community of leaders with a better mindset to accomplish their goals and dreams this YEAR.

Coming this January 24, 2023, Bobby Albert, CEO of Values-Driven Culture, will host a FREE and LIVE group coaching experience discussing

“Why Leaders Need To Anchor In Christ During Turbulent Times”

Are you trying to gain traction on your goals for the new year? Are some of those goals already starting to slip?

Join us as we look at how our goals reveal the spiritual condition of our hearts but also impact the physical reality of our personal and professional life. Pausing, reflecting, and evaluating will impact our daily habits, and reveal who we really trust. 

Join us on Zoom to:

• Hear why Christian leaders shouldn’t make choices out of survival mode or a scarcity mindset.
• Receive a FREE personal goal-setting resource that transformed Bobby’s relationships where he lives, works, and plays – and can do the same for you.
• Enter this year with steadfast peace and clarity only Christ offers

If you have not yet, set aside time to write a goal for each of the seven life areas that I have developed to help you identify and record your personal goals for this year! I walk you through four simple steps in my Goal Setting Workbook, which you can get for free by registering for the Live Group Coaching Call with Q & A Here>>>> http://bit.ly/3YKw5OK\