There’s been a lot written about goals. We all know we’re supposed to set them, and they should be SMART. And then we’re supposed to work toward them.

Ortlund doesn’t write much about the actual setting of goals; her focus is more on how goals give purpose and meaning to one’s life.

First, a dream or goal makes each woman unique. No two of us have the exact same dream. This is the foundation of what she calls “life-planning”, and a goal helps one stay on course and say no to distractions.

Second, a life goal gives one an identity. I’ve been thinking about this one for several days now, and I’m only beginning to appreciate the profundity of it. I had never considered how central my goals are to my sense of self and how I understand who I am and who I’m meant to be. Each of my goals says something about me and what I value. Now I have to consider that, and I will be with each new goal I set. I want my goals to reflect what I truly value, not what others value or judge important. This might be the best hidden gem of the book.

Third, there are two ‘types’ of goals: “life purposes (what I hope to be)” and “life goals (what I hope to do)” (Ortlund, Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman, 55). Personally, I love this distinction. Anyway. Her first two goals, basically her purpose and mission statements (to use university-speak for a moment) are not SMART. That is, they are not exactly measurable, but they aren’t meant to be. Her remaining six goals are (mostly) measurable. They are an interesting mix of personal (seeing her children settled) and professional (three books, five successful songs). I love that two are ambitious for herself. I could have done without the satisfying her husband goal, but that’s me.

That’s the big picture. She writes, however, that it’s not enough. These big goals go on page one of your notebook. Page two is for the current year’s goals. These are the shorter-term goals that (should) be stepping stones in completing the big life-goals. Hers are arranged according to the three priorities (Chapter 2). Each goal is broken down into steps, and we’ve all read enough posts on that.

The goal (forgive me, gentle reader, but I could not resist), of all this is to help you “control your days, instead of letting them control you” (Ortlund, Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman, 60). I’m all for that, and the next chapter presumably will tell me how to do it.