Your life’s great purpose

All of us have one. What's yours?

Posted 1/6/21

Do you have personal goals in your life?

If not, this is a good time to start.

Let me tell you a little story that will explain why this is important.

Our friend Ruth King often gives her …

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Your life’s great purpose

All of us have one. What's yours?

Posted

Do you have personal goals in your life?
If not, this is a good time to start.
Let me tell you a little story that will explain why this is important.
Our friend Ruth King often gives her consulting clients a homework assignment,. She has them list their immediate goals for the next 12 months, then goals for year 2, year 3 and up to year 5.
A client confessed he had discovered his 5-year goal plan written 6 years ago. It had been sitting in a desk drawer all that time but amazingly he discovered that he had achieved most of the goals.
Writing the goals had helped him envision the plan. Although he had not referred to what he had written, he had managed to follow the plan unconsciously.

Some times I feel that I have been planning goals all my life. I know that’s not true because I was fairly aimless as a teenager. 
In school, I studied the courses I liked, and managed to drudge through the rest.
Then I met people along the way who showed by their advice and example that life was more than just getting by. 
My parents were great examples. They were truly self-motivated. When I began to realize that they were far more than just Mom and Dad – they were God-given role models – it opened my eyes,
I had the good fortune to work for a few truly inspiring newspaper editors. 
I also learned from my share of dud editors what I did not want to be like.
My wife has been an enduring inspiration. She did not play around in school. 
She seemed to like every course she ever took. She even took demanding science courses not needed for her degree but because she wanted to learn about them. 
Her curiosity about life and the world inspires me to tackle more difficult tasks and set for myself more demanding goals,

Someone taught me about “smart” goal setting, too. I don’t recall who it was but I am in their debt for teaching me.
Smart goals, if you don’t know, are:
• Specific goals for improvement that specify who will do what, when and how.
• Measurable to indicate progress.• 
• Achievable. No matter how big the dream, can you really do it?
• Results oriented. What is the true value of achieving this goal?
• Time-related. What are my deadlines?
I started planning my goals quarterly years ago and have taught it to hundreds of others over the years. A 3-month goal is big enough that you can break it into action steps and assign each a deadline.
Using this outline, I’ve written and published 16 books in less than 15 years. It works for me almost every time. 

Occasionally my plan is too ambitious or other demands get in the way. 
Covid is a good example. Like yours, it turned my life upside down. But I adjusted.
I’ve written in more detail about how to plan and execute in a few of my books. 
In my book, “Your Life’s Great Purpose,” I show you how to develop goals in 8 key areas of your life: Your faith, your family and friends, your mental development, your health, your career, your wealth and happiness, your community and what you want to do just for fun if it.
Fun goals can be as adventurous – and potentially dangerous – as rafting the Chattooga River’s class 6 rapids or as non-life threatening as tracing your family’s colorful history and geneology.
Please let me know if you want more.
Next: The joy of reading

A gift suggestion
Do you know someone who is trying to find their wy in life or looking for a new mission? Give them copy of Jerry Bellune’s inspiring book, “Your Life’s Great Purpose.” A personally autographed copy is only $20. Call him at 803-331-6695.

Chronicle Editor Emeritus Jerry Bellune invites your comments and thoughts at JerryBellune@yahoo.com

life, Great, Purpose, 2021

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