Skip to main content

Communicating SMART Goals

             Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”  I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. (Nehemiah 2:17-18)

 

At last, At last! Nehemiah tells the Jewish nobles and leaders what he has planned, and what he has done so far toward his goal. Unfortunately, today’s passage presents the material in true “minutes” form, not giving us the details of the announcement or of the conversation that followed. I would have liked for him to introduce the architect(s) and engineer(s) for the project and the details of the plan. Of course, I wouldn’t want it word for word, because architects and engineers might take hours to explain a project in which they have n emotional investment, but somewhere between a verbatim and this executive summary would be nice.

Some goals are too big to handle on our own. Even if we are doing them solo, there may come a time in our pursuit of goals may require that we involve others. Whether our pursuit of goals is solo or corporate, it’s wise for us to learn to express them clearly. Some time ago someone developed the acronym “SMART” for goals. They suggest that we need to make them

Specific

Measurable

Action-Oriented

Realistic

Timely.

I have to admit, this is where I’m struggling this year. Sometimes, it’s easy.  “I will lose 60 lbs. (5 lbs./month.) The goal could even include the plan of how this is going to be accomplished. But when the goal isn’t SMART – when it is a relationship goal, things become more of a challenge. How does one measure seeing God differently? Or what action steps can help one have a stronger marriage? No matter what  your goals are, the more you can make them specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timely, the easier time you’ll have communicating it and achieving it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more