Lesson 8: A Balanced Life

Personal values, goal setting and decision making are key areas to explore. What does God's Word have to say about these vital subjects?

By Gary Petty

Little did I know how receiving the "I Dare You" Award when graduating from high school would affect my life. William H. Danforth's book would challenge me to explore life as an adventure of personal growth and sharing with others.

Later a lecture by John Goddard on setting personal goals really opened my mind to the endless possibilities of that challenge.

Glenn Van Ekeren gives this summary of Goddard's achievements: "In 1972, Life magazine published a story depicting the adventures of John Goddard. His story was one of undying determination filled with personal purpose. When he was fifteen, he heard his grandmother say, 'If I had only done this when I was young.' Determined not to spend his life playing the 'if only' game, John Goddard sat down and decided what he wanted to do with his life. When he finished writing, 127 goals existed.

"John Goddard decided there were ten rivers he wanted to explore, along with seventeen mountains he wanted to climb. He decided to become an Eagle Scout, visit every country in the world, learn to fly an airplane, and dive in a submarine. He wanted to retrace the travels of Marco Polo and ride a horse in the Rose Parade. This was just the beginning. John Goddard committed himself to reading the Bible from cover to cover, reading the entire works of Shakespeare, Plato, Dickens, Aristotle, Socrates and several other classic authors. He planned to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and yet have time to learn to play the flute and violin. Marriage, children (he had five), and a stint with church missions were also in his plans, along with a career in medicine.

"In 1972, John Goddard, at forty-seven, had accomplished 103 of his 127 goals. Goddard exemplifies the excitement of determining a purpose in life, setting goals, and pursuing them with determination" (The Speaker's Sourcebook by Glenn Van Ekeren, 1988, p. 185).

You may not have much interest in exploring rivers and climbing mountains, but how would you answer the question, "What are your life goals?" The answer to this question has much to do with the quality of your life.

Learning to set personal goals

When you know and understand your life's mission and foundational values, then you have a basis for developing personal goals.

The teens and early 20s are the times when we decide and train for what we want to accomplish in life. Where would we begin to find examples of how to develop goals in these formative years?

Obviously, the life of Jesus would be a great place to start. So, you pick up your Bible to find the passages that deal with Jesus' teenage angst, identity struggles and preparatory career education. But the long pages of information aren't there. Instead, the entire life of Jesus from ages 12 to 30 is summarized in one verse: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52).

This verse contains the most important instructions for people in the developmental years between 12 and 30. The key phrase is "and Jesus increased." These were active, happy years of personal growth and preparation. The verse then gives four basic areas of life in which Jesus grew: "inwisdom," mentally; "in stature," physical health; "in favor with God," spiritually; "and men," socially.

Let's look at how your life fits into these four areas:

Spiritual. This area of life is our relationship with God, worship practices and religious doctrinal beliefs.

Physical. This area encompasses our health and appearance.

Mental. This area of life includes our attitudes and abilities.

Social. This area encompasses healthy relationships with others.

This isn't a matter of dividing our lives into four tight compartments with no relationship to each other. If you're suffering from obesity and lack of energy (physical), it's difficult to maintain relationships (social). If you're not participating in prayer (spiritual), you'll suffer from a lack of direction and purpose and suffer in all other areas of life. If you don't keep up on the latest career information (mental), you might lose your job and... Well, you see how each area of life affects the other three.

When we find ourselves struggling with a lack of purpose or depression, or always in conflict with others, we need to ask, "What is out of balance in my life?" Am I living on course with my life's mission? Am I compromising my foundational values? Is my life spiritually, physically, mentally and socially balanced?

1. Review your life's mission statement and foundational values. Pray for God's guidance in establishing your life's goals.

2. What are your 10 most important talents and abilities?

3. Ask three people who know you well (parents and teachers are good choices) to make a list of your 10 most important talents and abilities.

4. Luke 19:11–26: This parable by Jesus illustrates that God requires us to use the spiritual gifts He gives us.

How can we apply this principle to any talent we have as individuals?

How can you apply your talents to helping others?

5. Use the "Creating Personal Goals" format to develop some long-term, intermediate and short-term goals. Long-term goals may be a bit ambiguous, but goals should become more and more detailed in the short term.

Wrap-up

•  Once we know our mission, standards and values, we're ready to develop life goals.

•  Our lives encompass four intertwined areas: spiritual, physical, mental and social.

•  To be balanced, we must set and achieve goals in each of these four areas.

•  Goals should consider our God-given talents and abilities.

To do

•  Add reviewing of your goals to your once-a-week review of mission and values.

Creating Personal Goals

In order to live a balanced life, we must learn to set and achieve goals in each of the four basic areas of human experience. Set five long-term, intermediate and short-term goals in the spiritual, physical, mental and social areas of your life. You must review these goals periodically and check progress. Also, remember as you accomplish goals or face changes in your life, these goals will need to be modified.

SPIRITUAL

Long Term (5-10 years)

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Intermediate (3-12 months)

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Short Term (this week)

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PHYSICAL

Long Term (5-10 years)

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Intermediate (3-12 months)

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Short Term (this week)

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MENTAL

Long Term (5-10 years)

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Intermediate (3-12 months)

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Short Term (this week)

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SOCIAL

Long Term (5-10 years)

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Intermediate (3-12 months)

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Short Term (this week)

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