Significant Goals

Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive. – Robert H. Schuller

The Recap

This month, we have walked through a new year goal plan with details on the type of goals we all seek to achieve. These goals are grouped as:

• Stair goals
• Switch goals
• Significant goals

Before we venture into significant goals, we must keep stair and switch goals at the forefront of our mind because these three goal types are connected. Stair goals, the small bite-size goals we can aim for and reach daily, are the connective tissue between the present and the future as we develop the habits that will carry us to bigger goals. Switch goals, the realignment of priorities, and how we apply our time, talent, and treasure require a change in lifestyle. The habits we develop with stair goals provide the system we need to sustain switch goals to their actualization. 

The Visual

The three types of goals can be visualized as blocks, with one leading to the other, as shown below. Notice that each goal builds into the next. The size of the goals also expands as you level up to each goal. 

Fig 1: The step-by-step approach to your goal plan 

The Main Ingredient

Significant goals are goals that, if and when accomplished, will radically change your life and impact the lives of others directly and positively. In the book, The 4 Disciplines of Execution, these goals are called Wildly Inspiring Goals (W.I.G.S). It is a defining mark in the story of your life. Big enough to be mentioned in your eulogy. One significant goal as a father is to raise our children to know, fear, and live for God, reach their God-designed purpose, and serve others with their lives. This significant goal for me starts with the stair goal of being present in our home and spending time with my children reading and teaching them. It then feeds into the switch goals of making changes where necessary so I can prioritize my family. A few years ago, I left a high paying job that required extensive travel because I put my family first. As stair goals feed into the switch goals, significant goals come into view. 

What is required for a significant goal to be accomplished?

In addition to the consistency of a daily routine required for stair goals and the lifestyle changes, discipline, purpose, and sacrifice that a switch goal calls for, significant goals need one more ingredient: Endurance. 

When I accomplished the significant goal of running my first marathon, I did not immediately go out and run my marathon. I built endurance over time, starting with my stair goal of daily running and core strengthening exercises. I also employed a switch goal, changing my diet to foods that will help fuel my body and give the best nutrition. When the day came to run the marathon,I was in the best physical and mental condition possible. That did not stop me from getting tired as I ran and wanting to quit. What kept me going was what I had deposited through stair and switch goals. I withdrew from these deposits in the final few miles of the race and completed the marathon. 

Do you have a significant goal? Start with what you do daily. Build the endurance each day and when the adversity to your goal strikes, you will have the ability to stick through and stay the course to your goal. You will keep showing up when everything around you says, “Lay down and quit.” You will realize what William Barclay said, “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”

Do you have a significant goal? Start with what you do daily

Final Thought: As the first month of 2024 comes to a close, don’t pay attention only to your goals but take regular stock of your daily routine and ask yourself if what you do daily is building towards the significant goal you’ve set. Remember, what you do daily is the foundation you are setting that will give you the ability to reach greater goals in the future.

Keep on keeping on!