This information is being posted on February 15, 2016. Today would have been my father’s 92nd birthday. In 1989, he had a heart attack which he survived, but the doctors told him that he would be lucky if he lived another five years. My dad, wanting to be able to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary (which would take place in October 1998), said to the doctors, “I need to be around for 10 years. Let’s make that happen.”
What my dad was asking for seemed like the impossible. But, happen it did because my dad had set a goal and he was going to do everything in his power to achieve it. He ate healthier. He adjusted activities so as not to put undue strain on his heart. He balanced his days with rest, volunteer work, and his favorite activities (fishing, cutting wood for his wood-burning furnace, and spending time with family and friends). He lived every moment of every day to the fullest. He relished and celebrated life.
My dad’s last 10 years are a wonderful example of the importance of setting goals. Goals are our plans for the future; they help us create positive expectations for the future. Goals are what we are trying to achieve. When we set goals, we determine what result we want and then we put forth effort to achieve that result. My dad’s goal helped him deal with the change (a heart condition) that entered his life. He could have given up; resigned himself to having only five years or less left; become a recluse and wile away the remaining time sitting in his recliner watching John Wayne movies. But no! Instead, he set a goal that helped him deal with the unsettled nature of things. You see, if we set a goal and dream about attaining that goal; of really desiring that goal/dream to come true, we just might work hard to make that goal a reality (no matter how impossible). We might work hard to make that dream come true. Our goals give us possibilities. And, when change that we don’t particularly want enters our life, having possibilities for the future helps us deal with that change.
Greg Anderson said, “When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.” My dad didn’t allow his life-changing news to deny him the ability to truly live life. Instead, he did have a goal that had deep meaning and a dream that needed completion – celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary – which propelled him forward; which had him truly living life; which had him dealing with change in a positive way. Despite the odds, despite how impossible it sounded, having that goal gave him something to strive for; something for which to keep going.
The best goal is created as a S.M.A.R.T. goal meaning it is:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time bound
Let’s look closer at each of these components.
Specific: Clearly define the outcome you want. What do you want to achieve? How will you achieve it? Why is it important to you? (My dad wanted to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary.)
Measurable: Establish criteria for measuring progress. Use actual numbers, target dates, or specific events to indicate when your goal has been achieved. (My dad wanted to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary, which meant he had to be around on October 9, 1998 to achieve his goal.)
Attainable: Your goal should move you beyond your comfort zone, but with effort and commitment should be attainable. (My dad’s goal was very significant to him and had much meaning. He made lifestyle changes – effort and commitment – to help him attain his goal. Was my dad’s goal really attainable? The odds were certainly stacked against him and much was out of his control. But, he did all that he could to control the factors that he could.)
Relevant: Your goal should be important, meaningful, and significant to you and the outcome should impact your life. (His 50th wedding anniversary was very important to my dad. He and my mom had many milestones in their married life and this was another one that had special meaning, one that gave him the drive to try and defy the odds the doctors had given him.)
Time bound: Your goal needs to have a time frame for completion. This will keep you focused and on track. (My dad’s time frame was to be around in 1998. While that was a long way off, he kept his “eyes on the prize” and consistently modified what he did and how he did things to give him the chance to achieve his goal.)
With any change, especially one that shifts you off course whatever direction you were headed, it is important to, as the GPS says “recalculate.” Part of the recalculation is setting a new goal or goals that will help keep you focused and will give you direction. Having a goal helps make what seems impossible or overwhelming a little more manageable. As Andy Williams sings in his song The Impossible Dream (The Quest), “To dream the impossible dream; to fight the unbeatable foe … to reach the unreachable star … this is my quest, to follow that star; no matter how hopeless, no matter how far …” Keep these lyrics in mind the next time change throws you for a loop. Dream the impossible dream. Reach for the unreachable star. Set a goal and do everything you can to achieve it. Maybe, just maybe you’ll have the same success as my dad.
The author (center) with her dad and mom at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration.
Author Becky Johnen 
