Set Goals. Today.

Set Goals. Make Decisions.

Face the Cons.

Goals can be things we’d like to achieve, destinations we hope to reach, or something we aspire to obtain.

It is imperative to have goals. Everyone aims for something, no one aims for nothing. And “If you continue to go down the same path you will likely end up where you are headed.” (unknown)

Boundaries can be a means of preventing ourselves from going too far in a certain direction. They may do well by keeping us from harming ourselves or others, or they can keep us from merely stepping outside of our comfort zones. In any case, we restrict our experience by painting invisible fences around our lives. We draw that line [even unconsciously] somewhere out in front of us, and purpose to never cross it — whatever “it” may be.

We can even draw lines behind us. For example, we should purpose to never return to a place or state we know to be unhealthy.

We should set goals to never accept a life of selfish, complacent, dull, willfully ignorant average-ness. God is way too big, and deserves way too much glory for us to settle contently into a comfy memory-foamed life. William Carey said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

We must accept the uncertain details of what lies ahead, and march forward with the bold courage of Joshua & Caleb, rather than caving in to fear and longing for oh-so-familiar Egypt.

Of course it may seem easy for me to say I’ve set a goal like this —after all I’m soon to be traversing the globe on an adventure of a lifetime. However, it is this motto that has gotten me to where I am today.

I set goals.

I didn’t just happen upon an exchange program at Purdue University; no housing arrangements arranged themselves, knocked on my door and invited me in. Technology course descriptions & syllabi didn’t hop off the world wide web and wiggle themselves out of my printer, and course approvals & credit transfer documents CERTAINLY didn’t just appear on my desk one fine morning.

Those days, beginning back in August, were “Today.”

In a few hours, I’m embarking on a journey with several goals, a few of which include: To see how fellow humans in another part of the world operate. To drop myself into a completely strange environment, learn to make friends out of strangers in a culture so different than my own, and learn to fend for myself 9 stories up in a city of over 2 million people. To find God alive and well in a nation on the other side of Earth.

Part of me wonders why it’s taken me this long to attempt these things. Another part of me realizes many never try.

We need to choose the object of our ambitions and efforts, set goals in that light, and run the race that is set before us with patience and purpose. Our goals may vary, and everyone's race won't look exactly the same. But we can all join the apostle Paul in saying, “So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” (1 Corinthians 9:26)

We may not always have something specific we are hoping to achieve. The future is often too vague, uncertain, and ambiguous to confidently and accurately draw a specific goal line. But we can turn around, face the direction we have come from, and draw a line that can both prevent us from resorting to something less than the best, and give us a starting line from which to go expectantly forward.

Cheers to Goals. Cheers to Today!