Goals

By Linda Mihalic

Goal is “the point set to bound a race, and to which they run; the mark. Any starting post. The end or final purpose; the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or accomplish.”—Webster’s American Dictionary
  A goal is “the aim or purpose toward which you direct an endeavor, an objective.” Its synonym is “intention.”—Oxford English Dictionary

Working together and sharing ideas to achieve goals:Mary Parker Follet (1868-1933), in her excellent essay, “The giving of orders,” wrote, “My solution is to depersonalize the giving of orders, to unite all concerned in a study of the situation, to discover the law of the situation and obey that.” Thus, she created the circular theory of power, advocating for power-sharing and employee participation.

“Goals are your intentions, formalized.”–Linda Mihalic

Goals are your intentions, formalized. Setting and reaching goals is an initiation that you face constantly, daily, although you may not recognize it as such. On the Via Christa, you set your goals for soul ascension in concert with the heavenly council in charge of your welfare and progress; such councils are the source of the idea of the management by objectives business model.

As candidates for initiation on the path of ascension, we are the employees; God is our Chief Executive, issuing orders through His Son, the Chief Operating Officer, and the managers, the heavenly council members, with whom we share the authority to choose and set our ascension goals. Our ultimate task is being personally responsible for meeting those goals, and being fully accountable for our results.

Edna Lister on Goals

The fulfillment of your visions, the clear path before you, reaching your goal, all depends on the quality of your desire to sacrifice the little self to your soul’s growth.—Edna Lister, September 28, 1938.

I put my mind on the goal, let go of my self and let God!—Edna Lister, July 10, 1941.

The goal of your personal work is to attain Oversoul consciousness.—Edna Lister, July 4, 1945.

Continue on high, one way, toward one desire, one path, one goal.—Edna Lister, September 4, 1945.

Gird your loins, dig in and march toward your goal mentally, emotionally and on the outer.—Edna Lister, June 3, 1947.

I’ll forever set a too high goal for my soul. I never want to feel I’ve reached a satisfactory point in my ascension, compared with where I want to go.—Edna Lister, February 11, 1955.

Reach out with your arms of Light and draw the goal to you.—Edna Lister, November 14, 1957.

It’s not your job to set a goal of competition for another to reach, for this only encourages him to outer enslavement to keep up.—Edna Lister, November 21, 1957.

Put aside lesser matters of the self, and focus all your powers of logic, reasoning, discernment and vision on one goal.—Edna Lister, November 11, 1962.

Little by little, you add substance to the goal.—Edna Lister, April 22, 1965.

The following is the transcription of the shorthand notes of a student who had been heavily criticized in a job performance review for not setting proper goals for himself: A goal is not a door you batter down, but something you work toward and through. A goal is an opening between the goal-posts. Some people do not reach their goals because they lack a final kick to get to the goal. They wait for something else to happen, when kicking the ball through the goal posts gives the reward.
  In writing, for example, when you have gotten the ideas, you then back away. You tear it to pieces to find out if you are putting in bricks without straw, something you cannot prove to the world. To be a better writer means stringing words together in a pattern, the pearls of great price that come from higher illumination and intuition. You must continuously express these ideas with words in a new interpretation. Until then, you have not yet arranged the words in their final interpretation.
  To set a goal is to set a place in time-space that you want to reach without being diverted by circumstances. It is a target in life. It has to be a broadened and expanded horizon. You know you have reached a goal when you feel squeezed. Enlarge your horizon! Double your efforts toward your goals. Without that extra effort, your horizons collapse.
  Two sentences contain the law: “This is good! Let there be Light!” These can be the idlest words when the heart is thinking of itself, which is blame or repudiation of whatever has happened. However, to say, “This is good! Let there be Light!” first gives God an opportunity to send His magnetism to hypnotize you out of self, and your first step upward in the Light from some sort of earth-blow you needed for salvation.
  Your prayers are efficacious, well placed and well formed. Your prayers have a meaning beyond just the goal of added things or even for healing. As your prayers increase in scope and fervor, your capacity increases for the return of Power over the lines established by your requests. In what measure should all “added things” be given? In what quantity should it be poured out? Which should go before the other, and how fast should God condense the substance? Your use of your many soul virtues determines the measure of these things. If you are an up-and-down sort of person, your results will be up-and-downish. Sometimes you will have miracles of perfection, and other times malformed creations.
  You are a creator and must increase your capacity for finding new goals by going to God, not intermittently but constantly. There is no life in subjects that have no challenge, and a challenge in a goal means interest in that goal. Even adverse interest helps you to reach a goal. If the goal idea arouses controversy, let it spur you to ever greater effort to break through the veil between you and the new horizon. If the challenge discourages you and weakens your desire, it is well to have it happen at once. To have a new idea for a goal is the first challenge. The second challenge comes from the outer adverse criticism and causes the pounding and the speculation which reaches out to the horizon for new backing of the original idea. Only once in a while will a new goal tear down everything about itself.
  Never let a goal slip by unchallenged or untried, no matter how silly or fantastic it may seem. Hidden within somewhere is the seed of life to bring forth a new idea. Carefully examine each without picking the seed apart before planting it. To keep silence is good. Let each idea mature and sometimes two goals will merge as an ideal and become one flaming goal. Keep your mind open and your soul absorbing energy wherever you go. Sometimes you must write six phases of one idea before the seventh appears, which will unfold the other six into fullness. Sometimes a fantastic idea will unfold into the most plausible and wonderful one. No time is lost, for you can do this work on redeemed time, which means not to let your mind wander. Put unused time to use, to speculate, ponder, and digest what you hear. Every statement then will be in line with what you wish for your creations, minus the piecemeal, chewed up and warmed over false starts.—Edna Lister, December 10, 1965.

When your eye is upon the goal, you cannot stumble in the darkness, for you face the Light, which makes all into “good and very good.”—Edna Lister, October 20, 1966.

It takes only a few days’ inattention to the goal for dry rot to start.—Edna Lister, June 2, 1967.

Your goal is to be as perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.—Edna Lister, Jesus’ Many Appearances, December 17, 1967.

Your goal is to keep your eye on the Lord until He is ready to move you to a new position that will demand your every talent.—Edna Lister, June 28, 1968.

Accept a higher place, then move toward that goal with all that is in you to move and use, and ever greater capacity shall be given to you.—Edna Lister, December 26, 1968.

When you begin to see obstacles, you lose sight of your goal.—Edna Lister, Undated Papers, 1933-1971.

When you plan to attain a high goal, days pass, each with its own success, and you know the time and place will finally meet.—Edna Lister, Undated Papers, 1933-1971.

Humanity must awaken to inspiration of spirit, and aspire to a goal higher than self.—Edna Lister, Undated Papers, 1933-1971.

New Testament on Goals

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.—Matthew 6:33.

He that endureth to the end shall be saved.—Matthew 10:22.

Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant, just as the Christ did not come to be served, but to serve.—Matthew 20:27-28.

With God nothing shall be impossible.—Luke 1:37.

Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.—Luke 1:45.

The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.—John 14:10.

If this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it—Acts 5:38-39.

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.—Romans 8:28.

Follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.—Romans 14:19.

No other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.—1 Corinthians 3:11-14.

We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. [We do not look at the visible, but at the invisible; for the visible is temporary, but the invisible is eternal.]—2 Corinthians 4:18.

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 3:13-14.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.—Philippians 4:13.