Counseling appointments are a part of our normal routine. It has taken quite awhile to come to a point of a.) Finding a counselor who is able to work with us, understand our needs, and b.) Finding a counselor who is able to establish a professional patient/counselor relationship and connect without feeling like a friend - believe it or not, that is a very important separation point!
Today we talked about SMART goals…Goals that are very specifically and strategically set to succeed. SMART goals are:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely
Three goals were set. The one that sticks out in my head is a goal dealing with daily devotions. Becca was ready to set the goal and move full guns ahead on setting the goal to be daily. Her counselor, however, reined her in a bit, asking if Becca felt that it was a Realistic goal. Becca thought and changed the goal to read 5-7 days/week. She is working through reading the New Testament in a year.
Next, the counselor asked Becca if her goal was Achievable. Some of you might think the counselor's question sounds a bit harsh or condescending. Her actual intent, however, was to help Becca to set a goal that she knew Becca could successfully meet in a shorter period of time. The goal was revised to say, "I will do my Bible study 5-7 days a week when I wake up until I finish Matthew." When she finishes Mathew, we have already discussed the revision to include Mark. It will be a series of shorter goals set throughout the year or until she has met her "big picture" goal.
I was impressed that the counselor cared enough about Becca's values to help her include them in her goals. She could have very easily avoided goals specifically related to Becca's walk with Christ and approached her with the watered down world-values of a "good" person. Instead, she was very intentional with her questions and helped Becca work through each of her goals like that.
On the way home, Becca and I had fun creating a couple more goals. We agreed to try to keep one another accountable. Although, I think we both realize that we will not be the best partners for one another because we are too close. Interestingly enough, though, the goals we set had been running through both of our heads. It was simply a matter of saying them out loud. Hopefully, we will be of the same mind and manage to make it through - a moment at a time, followed by each hour, day, and week until we realize that we have established a new routine.
Consider what lies ahead for you. Do you have goals? Do you know how you are going to accomplish them?
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