Goal Setting: When is Enough, Enough?

While the beginning of a new year, month, or week always seems like a good time for reflection and goal setting, too often I get caught in the trap of framing my reflection in the negative. I didn’t exercise enough, eat well enough, run fast enough, read my Bible enough, and on and on it goes. This is reflected in my goals — exercise more, eat more veggies, do more whatever. All the more, more, more is exhausting rather than refreshing.

Here’s the thing — with this kind of thinking, enough is never enough. If you’ve ever practiced a sport, played an instrument, or done any other activity that requires a level of skill, you’ll know what I mean. You think to yourself, once I’ve done X it will get easier. You do X and while some aspects of the thing get easier, the thing itself doesn’t get easier.

To avoid the exhaustion that comes with this type of thinking, this time I purposefully framed my reflection and goal setting on three areas — what I want to keep doing, start doing, and stop doing. Starting with “keep doing” was great, as it was an opportunity to think about all the things I’m already doing — whether or not improvement is needed.

This process naturally led me to create goals that are framed in the positive, such as:

• Eating with purpose: Continuing to eat pretty clean and working purposefully to eliminate even more processed foods from my diet.
• Enhancing my piano skills: Continuing to play the piano every day and begin using an online tutor to improve my abilities.
• Exercising regularly: Starting to exercise more regularly, striving to not let other things get in the way of this discipline.
• Setting weekly goals: Using regular goal setting as a means to accomplish my work and educational goals, while also maintaining balance in my personal and spiritual life.
• Spending time in the Bible: Maintaining my practice of reading the Bible daily and using a plan to help me read the whole Bible in a year.
• Staying out of credit card debt: Continuing to pay off credit card debt monthly and avoiding the temptation to carry over a balance.

Now, in order to avoid the spiral of more, more, more, I need to continue to frame my thinking in the positive. Rather than focus on all the areas where I’m not enough, I’m going to remember that no matter how much I try, I’ll never be enough. And, that’s okay. In fact, it’s freeing.

All the striving leads to exhaustion, and when I’m exhausted I don’t want to do anything. Clearly, that’s not healthy and there’s a better way. I’m reminded of the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV):

Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’

Jesus is telling us very clearly that there’s no reason for us to carry the burden on our own. We don’t need to worry about being enough, because Jesus is already enough. As His followers, we can rest in this truth. This doesn’t mean that we don’t need to try our best, but rather that we have hope in the Good News of who Jesus is and what He’s done even when we’re not enough. This is because Jesus is always enough.

So, I’m going to continue to set good goals that are framed in the positive and do my best to meet them. And, I’m going to turn to the only one who can satisfy my thirst and give me rest.

…Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’

~ John 7:37-38 (NIV)