Don’t Focus On The Goal

This is chapter six of the Quit Giving Up ebook. You can get the whole thing in our shop now!

Don’t focus on the goal? What are you talking about? A couple of my friends have found getting a project started in and of itself is crippling. These friends have different passions to go and change the world and made a commitment to do it. To them, this part is easy.

But then came the nitty-gritty grind of administrative tasks, doing the work, setting up the mundane spreadsheets, and doing research or implementing routines which is where we see their motivation nearly evaporate for them. We see this with blogging, social media posting, creating a newsletter for your church, finding volunteers to operate the soundboard and engage with people who may want to buy your product or support your ministry.

I want to write a daily blog with full SEO, custom Photoshopped feature image, and at least two in-house links, along with a marketing campaign, and robust and thriving comment section. That sentence alone makes me want to quit. It feels too much.

Break A Goal Into Action Steps

One big goal has so many action steps that need to be defined. I need to break this one big goal down. Breaking it down allows us to have easy, doable tasks. Instead of focusing on the whole task, look at what you can do today. Once you get it done, move on to tomorrow’s tasks.

Day 11, we talk about S.M.A.R.T. goals and how to have reasonable expectations. Do not forget this chapter, especially this section, when you start talking about S.M.A.R.T. goals. It will make life so much less painful.

Forget the Goal or Change It

The goal itself should be the thing you think about in the morning when you head to work and the last thing you do when you evaluate what you have done for that day. But the other 7 hours and 55 minutes of your workday should be solely focused on the action steps of the goal until it is fully achieved.

Too many times we are looking at the big pie in the sky and stumble walking up the steps to success, we get lost in the woods and become overwhelmed, or any number of clichés you want to add here.

The goal may be set, but we may change it depending on if the goal was attainable and realistic. The only way to find this out? Do the action steps and then reevaluate the goal in a few weeks or months.

Honestly, focus on the individual steps it takes to get there. No marathon runner can be successful if they don’t take the steps months before to train. No orchestra will be able to put on the performance of a lifetime without clear practice schedules. An elder, youth pastor, volunteer coordinator, communication director, or senior pastor needs to break down their message or design, craft it, edit it, and polish it before they publish it or preach it to the world. These are all action steps that lead to a bigger goal.

What goal has been holding you back and how could you break it down into action steps?