A 7-minute read.
Let’s talk about Purpose, Vision, and Goals and how we create what we want in our lives. This approach is a different and more profound way of looking at goals than most people use. I believe how we create what we want in our lives must be the first understanding of goal setting.
As we explore this message, keep in mind there is a difference between setting and achieving a goal.
- Goal Setting is an intellectual skill. That means it can be learned and must master it to be effective.
- Goal Achievement is a lawful process, which means you can obtain your goals by following God’s natural laws and principles.
Both are essential skills and principles for you as you pursue success and fulfillment in all areas of your life. You hold the key to setting and achieving goals that align with accessing your true potential, living your best life, and being your best self.
I want to affirm the understanding that what we all call goal setting and goal achieving is a very natural process of creation, which many call manifestation. As a person of faith in a relationship with Christ Jesus, I understand God created us in His image with the ability to create. He designed us to create (or manifest) in alignment with Christ, as His Spirit dwells within us. The world, however, has taken God’s design and removed Christ – and as a result, refer to the creative process as a manifestation – creating out of one’s ego-centered desire.
Creation vs. manifestation is a critical distinction because we do nothing apart from His Spirit by our very nature as followers of Christ. So, as you read this article, realize the process works – it uses God’s laws and procedure. Therefore, our focus during the creation process is vital. I use this process while staying focused on Christ and His Spirit within me.
For many years in my life, I looked at myself as a failure to achieve a new year’s resolution – achieving the goals I set each new year. I had failed so many times to attain various weight loss goals that I decided never to create a new year resolution again! When I say I failed, what I mean is I just quit trying.
I do not honestly ever remember making the conscious decision to quit trying. I can remember deciding not to do whatever I was supposed to do that day to achieve my goal, but I never looked at that singular decision as me saying “No” to my life’s dream, to me quitting on my plan. Of course, I still wanted my goal; but it always seemed to lead to that; sooner or later, I quit working on my dream. Then, finally, I would stop trying altogether.
But what if I had it all wrong? What if I was looking at this goal-setting thing all wrong? What if I was not failing when I quit? What if stopping from time to time was necessary for the goal achievement process?
What if that time-space that I had labeled as quitting was a natural and necessary part of the process in goal achievement? A time-space period in the creative process allows for self-evaluation and Godly contemplation – an essential expression of the Law of Rhythm, rather than a space for more action.
Note here that I said Godly contemplation, not self-contemplation. This twist on reflection is another differentiator from God’s natural process; man’s ego inserts “self”-meditation and removes God from the process. As a person of faith, what you focus on matters. Do not wholly reject a God-given power because the world has shifted the process. Instead, tap into the power and dominion given to you as an authentic disciple of Christ – keep your focus on your union with God. We are co-creators.
Now, what if, in that time-space, I defined as quitting, I were to use to strengthen my inner image [of my vision and goals]? Even while doing nothing, not exercising, studying, etc., if I still held the picture of my dream, that image would keep me in the goal achievement or creative process in my mind and spirit. Goal achievement is not just a physical activity. We are spiritual beings first and foremost – our thoughts are energy.
What if I changed my perception of goal achieving altogether and began to see it as a creative process, a process of co-creating things in my life, of attracting key people and opportunities into my life? Now that is something I have more confidence in, that I know I have been successful at in my life. When I look at the goal achieving process as creating and manifesting things, I have less self-judgment when I meet with temporary failure.
See, goal setting and goal achieving are skills we must learn; they require a learning model, as all things do, just as learning to ride a bicycle. Creating, or manifesting, is a very natural process for us – we do it naturally whether we realize it or not. As you look around today, your circumstances result from what you intentionally or unintentionally created up to this point – through conscious or subconscious beliefs. Learning to focus on this God-given power [faith in the substance of things not yet seen] is fundamental to success.
Let me take a moment to fill in some assumptions in what I am proposing in this approach to Goals. The First Law of Heaven is Order. Regardless of anyone’s beliefs, we can all agree on this, right? We know the sun rises in the east each morning. We see the sunset in the west each evening. We know the moon affects the ebb and flow of the ocean’s tides (following the Law of Rhythm), and we know the Law of Gravity, as a few examples.
So, we can all agree that the Universe follows laws to keep things running in proper order.
You and I are in this world; therefore, these same Laws apply to us. In addition, there are laws that, if we follow, give us specific results: Cause and Effect. We have not been taught these Laws in public school, per se, as they apply to our thoughts (cause), so most of us are not aware of them. Rather than thinking in cause-and-effect logic, we feel more like luck-and-chance or fate – especially since there is a delayed process in the outcome (effect).
We were born creators; we came preprogrammed to create; we were born into this world with the learning model of creating already programmed within us. Our Creator made us in His image. We create through our thoughts and words.
If you want help working through your Purpose, Vision, and Goals and experiencing the process of self-exploration, I’m here to help. Connect with Candace Mae with a free, 15-minute, exploratory strategy session at: https://candacemae.com/schedule-an-appointment/
Candace Mae Gruber is the Founder and CEO of Candace Mae Training and Services – a Leadership & Strategic Business Consultant, Executive Coach, Best Selling Author, International Speaker, and Trainer. Candace Mae is the mother of three grown children and lives in Valley Center, CA, near her oldest daughter and three beautiful grandchildren.