Means Goals (So Goals)
How do you know if your goal is a means goal?
On the other side of the goal is a so.
- “I want to get good grades so I can go to a good college, so I can get a good job, and so I can make lots of money.”1
- “I want to lose weight so I can look better in my clothes, so I can attract someone decent to date, and so I can get married.”1
“…if there’s a so on the other side, we’re training ourselves to defer contentment to the future.”
Craig Groeschel
Instead we need goals, and habits, that lead to an end.
“When becoming more like Jesus is the driving force of your life, success is no longer out there somewhere.”1
“As followers of Jesus we want goals that are not about what we are getting or what we are doing but about who we are becoming.”1
“Not getting, not doing, becoming.”1
“That’s the thing about our habits. We think of them as actions, but they are way more than that,
Because our habits define our identities.”1
- I start a new habit of eating right. Why? Because I am becoming more like Jesus. And when I eat right, I am honoring God by being a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
- I start a new habit of waking up earlier. Why? Because I want to create time to read my Bible. Why? Because I am becoming more like Jesus. And reading the Bible renews my mind so I can take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
- I stop an old habit of looking at porn. Why? Because I am becoming more like Jesus. When I don’t lust after images, I can live a pure life of integrity (Col. 3:5-7).
“If you want to change who you’re becoming, change your habits”1
“The small things no one sees can lead to the big results everyone wants.”1
“Success happens not by accident but by habits.”1
“If success happens by habits, what habit do you need to start? What habit do you need to stop so you can become more like Jesus?”1
“As Christ followers, our and goal, our ultimate win, our true mark of success is becoming more like him.”1
Exercise
To close out this section, consider how you may have made your goals “means goals” (or so goals). Use this pattern to change your current and future goals from means goals to end goals.
MY MEANS/SO GOAL
I want to [BLANK] so l can [BLANK] so l can
so l can [BLANK] so l can [BLANK].
MY END GOAL
I want to start a new habit of [BLANK].
Why? Because I am becoming more like Jesus. And when I [BLANK] l am/I can.
[BLANK].
Source: (Groeschel, 2023)
Principle
Success is becoming more like Jesus.1
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
–Philippians 3:8 NLT
Sources:
[1] Groeschel, C. (2023). The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most. Zondervan.
