Ecclesiastes 9:10  (NIV)

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Just 24 hours. That’s not much, unless you are in severe pain, or terribly bored listening to a teacher, or doing a mundane task that does not hold your attention. You might even be talking to a friend and they are going on a rabbit trail you do not want to be on. All of a sudden they ask a question and you realize you have no answer because-you weren’t listening! Well,there are times in our lives when we must discipline ourselves to stick to the task at hand. One of those areas is when we are making positive changes in our lives. It is still January. Still the month of beginnings. When we are making attempts to change a habit, or incorporate a habit into our lives, the experts say it takes 21 days of consistently doing something to make it an integral part of your routine. Funny thing though…it only takes 3 days to lose the habit. Therefore, once you have begun the habit, it is best to stick with it, or, you are on a never ending board game. You know the one i mean, you are doing so will, getting high numbers on the die so you can go far on the board and whamm! You get the dreaded ‘return to home’ card. You must start all over again.

When I am starting a new habit I like to start with a goal. I am using the habit of reading the Bible daily as our illustration for today. It could be any positive habit you want to incorporate into your life. Exercise, learn a new skill, finish a book or craft. But, it must be a ‘SMART’ goal. SMART is the mnemonic acronym for Specific-Measurable-Achieveable-Realistic and Timely. Let’s break that down into ‘small chunks.’

The goal, for our illustration, to establish a habit of reading the Bible daily. I am being specific when I write down that goal.

I will make the goal measurable when I state ‘one chapter’ every day.

Achievable is something to think through. When can you sit quietly, undisturbed and not be rushing to get somewhere? Can you take that same time every day to read your chapter? If not, will you have to get up earlier in the morning or go to bed later? Will you have to cut out another activity to carve out the time for this goal? This is a critical step. If you don’t take the time to think this through and write down the goal, you may put it off when something else comes up. I prefer to read first thing in the morning. No one is calling, it’s too early. I have no appointments. I have taught myself that everything else will come after I read my Bible. I established that this activity is the most important activity of my day. Trust me, the rest of the day goes better too!

When I establish my goal, I must be sure it it achievable. Even though I really love reading the Old Testament, if I set my goal to read it in a day, I would set myself up for failure. Even if I say the book of Genesis in one day, again, too big of a chunk! Smaller more manageable chunks make for a successful day. If you have extra time, and you can read more, great! There is no pressure to do that, it’s only an option. Remember we are trying to set a goal we will be successful at. When we achieve success one day, we are motivated to go for 2 days, and so on.

With the idea of success in mind, we want the goal to be realistic also. This is similar to achievable in this illustration, but in other goals you may be trying to loose 5 pounds, achievable. In one week? Not very realistic! You want to be successful remember, so don’t make the ‘chunk’ too big to chew and swallow!

Finally the goal must be timely. We are not setting a goal to be reached in 10 years. We will forget it. We will not set a goal for anything that would not be able to be completed within your one day! This keeps your goal fresh, current and do-able.

Sometimes the Lord whispers something we should do in our ear. Set up a SMART goal and get it done today! One success is the foundation for another success. Win the day…win this day! Be smart.