A Fresh Start: Four Tasks to Reach Any Goal

I bought an exercise bike that was a few years old. The seller led me through a maze of boxes in her basement until we found the Schwinn. After removing the clothes on the handlebars and the files piled on the seat, I saw a pristine machine. She said she was glad to get rid of it because it constantly reminded her of her failure to get in shape. 

Many of us have physical reminders of how our good intentions quickly fade into disappointment. I’ve done what she did with different types of goals. Typically, we start with excitement, make a purchase or sign up for a plan, give it a go with pure willpower, and then end up with the 80 percent of people who quit their New Year’s resolutions before mid-February. 

Let’s do it differently.

I’ve learned a lot from my failures and my research. And this year, now that I’ve prayed and discerned my top God-given goals in diet, exercise, spiritual growth, relationships, and my career, I’m using more than determination. I’m going after my goals by applying four methods for a fresh start. 

1. I’m mustering as much willpower as possible as my starting point.  

On Shark Tank, Mark Cuban chides entrepreneurs who aren’t working hard enough. The billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks often recites his story, how, after college, he slept in a cheap, crowded apartment and hustled to build his business. 

He says he invests his shark money in people in desperate situations where they must muster their willpower to accomplish their goals.

Like Mark, God also wants us to exert our willpower to achieve our God-given goals. We are told to train and discipline ourselves (1 Timothy 4:7), strive and press toward our goals (Philippians 3:14). Let’s go after our God-given goals like a dog after a bone.

2. I’m making a real decision before I begin.

We can’t count on willpower alone. I’ve failed often because I thought my strong efforts would be enough.

Willpower is like a muscle. It gets depleted the more we use it. After a day filled with self-discipline, I don’t have enough strength left to deny the seductive song of candy in the corner of the cabinet. 

So, a better approach is to do a couple of things upfront so we don’t rely on our willpower so much. The first is to make a real decision (the second will be to change our conditions based on our decision, task #3 below).

In Benjamin Hardy’s book Willpower Doesn’t Work, he explains that we need willpower regularly because we haven’t made a real decision, as opposed to saying we’ve decided but not committing to our decision. Without a real decision, we stay internally conflicted, fueling the temptation to give up on our goals. Fighting temptation drains willpower quickly.

When we don’t begin our quest with a real decision, we waffle. Waffling is like a ticking bomb attached to us as we journey toward our goals. The way to neutralize the bomb is to make a real decision about what we want before we start the journey. 

There is a big difference between wishing and deciding. My bike’s original owner wished to get in shape. If she had decided to, she would have, and I wouldn’t have gotten a bargain bike. Most of us call our wishes resolutions.  

Waffling wastes time and energy. Indecision stirs stress. 

A real decision is a committed resolution to win, no matter what the cost. We never look back. We don’t wrestle with the option to eat the candy. We’ve already decided we won’t. We’re resolved.

A real decision brings relief, ideas, and energy. That’s how God desires us to live. 

3. I’m changing conditions so that I’ll reach the goal. 

Here’s how we know we’ve decided: we spend our willpower creating conditions that pave the way forward. 

Most people say they wish to achieve a goal and then constantly call on their willpower to try not to quit. Wish and try is a formula for failure. Our willpower gets worn down, and our wishes get wiped away.

A better approach, after determining God’s goals for us, is to leverage our willpower ahead of time to make a real decision and change our environment. We change our environment when we do things such as:

• Tell someone our goals (make it public).

• Get rid of obstacles or temptations ahead of time (throw out the candy). 

• Invite others to journey with us or hold us accountable (make it social).

• Make smaller decisions ahead of time that clear the path (not to go certain places, not waste time in certain activities, not buy certain foods, agree to talk with our partner before making purchases, join a YouVersion reading group, put a filter on our devices, set up recurring giving to our charity, or rearrange our office for better focus).

• Write down dates to complete the big goal and the little steps (make a deadline). 

We’re much better off if we use our willpower ahead of the journey to make a real decision and change our environment. That way, we don’t rely on our willpower so often to overcome tempting conditions.

There is a reason why, in the Bible, we’re commanded to “flee” all sorts of temptations. We can't always resist. We’re told to change environments.

Making a real decision and changing our conditions are more easily done when we add to our willpower a power that’s not ours, which leads us to our most important task. 

4. I’m asking God to give me more power than I possess.

Most of us fail because we try to climb the rugged hill to our goals alone. As James writes, “You do not have because you do not ask God” (4:2).

If we look behind anyone who accomplishes God-sized goals, we’ll find God. There’s no way to achieve them without him. They’re God-sized, remember? But to get his help, we have to ask.

Research says addicts rarely recover until they join a group. After they join the group, they follow the 12 Steps. In step one, they declare their powerlessness. In step two, they rely on a power outside themselves. 

God is our ultimate power source, and he longs to distribute it. 

So, I’m diving into the path toward my goals. And I’m asking God for help. A lot. Whenever and as often as I need it. 

If we’re going to succeed at the audacious and adventurous goals God presents to us, we can’t wish and try. We must decide, clear the path, ask for God’s help, and leverage our willpower and spiritual power all along the way. 

These four tasks can get us anywhere God wants us to go. And God will be with us every step (or pedal) of the way. It’s a good day for a fresh start. We better get going because I’ve got some M&M’s to donate.