How To Set Goals In All Areas of Life
Feb 20, 2026Summary
Have you ever felt like a juggler in the game of life? Every time you get your career on track, your health drops. Or you feel super connected to your family, only to realize your spiritual life has withered. We are told we need "balance," but trying to give 100% to everything at once is a recipe for total exhaustion. In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and advisory board member Jerusha Smith answer the question: How to set goals in all areas of life?
We move from the paralysis of trying to do it all to the power of the "Next Right Step." We explore the biblical blueprint for holistic growth found in Luke 2:52—Jesus increased in wisdom (mental), stature (physical), favor with God (spiritual), and favor with man (social). Jerusha shares a game-changing perspective on "balance"—explaining why standing still on two feet is balanced but gets you nowhere, while walking requires constantly shifting your weight to move forward. Plus, we reveal the "Faith Speak" hack: speaking your goals in the past tense (like God did with Gideon) to activate your faith before the battle even begins. Tune in to find your rhythm and stop apologizing for being in motion!
Episode Takeaways
- The Luke 2:52 Framework: Jesus grew holistically in four areas: Wisdom (Mental), Stature (Physical), Favor with God (Spiritual), and Favor with Man (Social). Use these four categories to set a balanced roadmap for your life.
- The Walking Metaphor: True balance isn't standing still on two feet; that gets you nowhere. Progress (walking) requires shifting your weight from one foot to the other. Stop apologizing for focusing on one area at a time—that is how you move forward!
- The Stewardship of Self-Care: Tamara shares a hard lesson learned from bronchitis: "If Tamara takes care of herself, she can help other people." Even Jesus took naps. Rest isn't a luxury; it's a divine requirement for sustainable service.
- Faith Speak: God told Gideon, "I have delivered them into your hand," before the battle even started. Speak your goals in the past tense ("I am so grateful I finished my book") to pull your future into your present reality.
Resources
Ready to map out your own Luke 2:52 plan? Download our FREE Guide to Goal Setting. It features worksheets specifically designed to help you identify your goals for this season in all four key areas. 👉 Download the Guide Here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/offers/WyaLn2gS/checkout
Need accountability? Check out our Women Warriors Accountability Group for free for two weeks! https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/join-now
Reflection Questions
- Look at the Luke 2:52 categories (Mental, Physical, Spiritual, Social). Which one is currently "dropping" while you juggle the others?
- Are you trying to "stand still" to achieve balance, or are you willing to "walk" by shifting your focus seasonally?
- What is one "piggyback" goal you can set? (e.g., Tamara adding a weighted vest to her existing walk).
- Try the "Faith Speak" hack: Write down one major goal as if it has already happened. How does that change your confidence?
Podcast Host and Guest
Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson
Jerusha Smith @forwardwithgod
Transcript
Tamara K. Anderson
00:00:00.400 - 00:01:58.140
Have you ever felt like a juggler in the game of life?
That every time you get something right, one of the balls falls, maybe you get sick or you feel super connected to your family only to have your spirituality drop away? We are often told that we need to have balance, but trying to give 100% to everything all at once is a recipe for total exhaustion.
Today we're going to talk about how how to set goals in all areas of life.
And by the end of today's episode, you will have a four category framework built on the life of Jesus Christ himself that will help you prioritize your day without the guilt.
We're helping you solve the problem of scattered focus by showing you how to find your next right step while still moving forward in every area that matters.
Ordinary women, Extraordinary faith When God calls, we say yes.The Arise Women of God Podcast
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast. I'm your host, Tamara Kay Anderson, and joining me today is Jerusha Smith, a member of our Women warriors of Light Advisory board.
And today we're moving from standing still to walking forward. First, we'll talk about the power of focusing on the next right step versus trying to do everything all at once.
Second, we'll dive into the stewardship of self care and why rest is a divine requirement for service. Third, we'll share the biblical four category model for a balanced life from Luke chapter two, verse 52.
And finally, we're going to share a powerful warrior hack on how to speak your goals as if you had already accomplished them to activate your faith. But let's first start with the one step at a time principle.
Jerusha Smith
00:01:58.860 - 00:02:31.810
Honestly, I think just praying for your next right step and focusing on one thing at a time is the best choice, at least for me, because when you scatter your focus, it's very difficult to hone in on that one thing that you really need to do right now because you can't give a hundred percent to it. You can only take one step at a time. If you think about walking, you take one step that moves you forward and then you take the next one.
You don't take them both at the same time.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:02:32.370 - 00:03:24.880
I can totally see that. As I set goals this year, I felt impressed to divide it into four different categories. And sometimes I do that and sometimes I don't.
There's one big goal, like in business that we're focusing on. Yeah, there's. There's another goal that I do have physically that I'm working on, like going through perimenopause has been really hard for my body.
And so there's certain things I'm doing to strengthen my body and stuff like that. And, and then there's goals that I've set spiritually, you know, as far as I want to have a better connection with God.
And then there's also my family and, and better memories with them. And so I think it depends on the time of day. It's like I have certain times of day that I work on different things. Does that make sense?
Jerusha Smith
00:03:24.880 - 00:04:01.370
Oh, yeah. No, it totally does.
Because like in the morning, my next right step is to spend time with God and spend time in scripture and prayer and pondering what he has to tell me, listening. And then my next right step is to go maybe do something around the house, do something with my family. So you have one thing in all areas.
It's what's my next right step right now? So right now it could be okay, I'm. I need some self care. I'm going through perimenopause.
I, I'm not going to be able to do today if I don't do something.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:04:01.770 - 00:04:36.260
For me, it's all about rhythm. Not a perfect split of your time. If you try to give 100% to four things at 8 o' clock in the morning, you will fail.
But if you give 100% to your one thing for that hour, you will win. However, many of us women struggle with this because we feel we have to finish everyone else's to do list before we can take a look at our own.
I learned the hard way that neglecting your own needs will eventually stop you from serving altogether.
Jerusha Smith
00:04:36.740 - 00:04:37.420
Invincible.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:04:37.420 - 00:08:07.040
This cough turned into bronchitis, which, I mean, I was flat on my back, I had no energy and I literally just had to lay there. I remember laying on the couch and there was this beautiful picture of Jesus above me.
And I was looking at the picture of Jesus and I'm like, jesus, I want to be out serving you, but I'm really sick right now. Can't even get up. And it, it put these, this connection in my brain that I haven't forgotten.
Now, it doesn't mean I haven't struggled with it, but I haven't forgotten is if Tamara takes care of herself, she can help other people. You know, I can do other things. I can work, I can help my family, I can do all these other things.
But if I don't take care of myself, I run myself ragged, I run myself to the point of I can't even get up off this couch, then I don't have the capacity to move in all the other areas of my life. Right?
And so I think that is one of the, the challenges we face, especially as women, like you said, is giving ourselves enough grace to say, I need some time for me today, I need some rest. And that is okay, you know, not to feel shamed about it. Because if you pause and think, when God created the world, he took a day of rest.
And if it was important for God, then it's important for Tamara. If the Creator of the universe took a day to rest, who are we to think we can run 247 without a break? Even Jesus took naps.
We need to follow his example of holistic growth. He didn't grow just spiritually. He grew in every area that makes a human whole. Luke 2:52.
Jesus increased in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man. There's some beautiful categories there. You know, he was improving his mind, stature, his body.
He had a connection with God and then he had a connection with his fellow men. And I think that those are great categories. If you're looking at setting goals in different areas of your life is maybe look at some of those.
Wisdom, stature, God and man. That is your four category roadmap. And remember, these don't have to be giant life altering shifts.
Sometimes the best way to accomplish a goal is to piggyback it onto something you're already doing. But it really can be just tiny baby things.
One of the goals I had last year was strength training, but I don't really like lifting weights or anything. And so I was brainstorming with God. I'm like, God, you know me, I love walking. It's my favorite thing. And then the thought came into my head.
We'll research how you can do that while you're walking. And I thought, oh, that's a great idea. And I ended up buying a weighted vest, the one that you can put in little packages.
And you just put them in this little zipper pouch in the front and in the back, and you can add it gradually, a little bit at a time. And so I just thought, that's great. I'll add two pounds, walk with two extra pounds for a couple weeks, then I'll add another £2. And you know, it.
It ended up being just tiny. It's such a small change in my routine because I already walk all the time. But it's little things, right?
Jerusha Smith
00:08:07.040 - 00:08:08.830
It's just that increase.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:08:09.230 - 00:08:31.550
Yeah, just a little increase. What can I do to increase in this one area right now? That's how you move the needle one small increase at a time.
And if you're worried about balance, well, Drusha is going to now share a powerful metaphor about walking that completely reframes how we look at our priorities.
Jerusha Smith
00:08:32.190 - 00:09:19.370
She said, I need to find balance. And she discovered by hearing a story from someone else, if you stand on your two feet, you.
You just stand there, and you're balanced on your two legs. You're balanced, but you're not going anywhere. You're not progressing. You're not going forward.
So she learned to quit apologizing and start, okay, I'm gonna do this with what I feel called to do. Then I'm gonna go over doing this with my family and just kind of back and forth.
Because when you start moving your legs back and forth, that's when you walk forward. That's when you move forward and progress and you actually get somewhere.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:09:20.410 - 00:09:40.350
So, ladies, stop apologizing for being out of balance and start celebrating that you are walking, that you are moving forward. To make that walk more powerful, we need to change how we speak about our destination. We need to speak the end from the beginning.
Jerusha Smith
00:09:40.910 - 00:10:56.760
For goals. I speak them as if they already happened. And if you look at the Scriptures, there are countless examples of when the Lord does this.
Like he tells Gideon, I've already delivered the Midianites into your hands. Like, we've already conquered them, you know, and they hadn't even gone to battle yet. And this isn't judges. And then there's.
There are other times when, like Adam, he calls Eve the mother of all living, and they haven't had any children yet. And it's. It's kind of that I'm speaking the truth now, because this is what things will be. And so that's how I speak my goals.
It's not, I will do this, because then that always pushes it out into the future, and you never get there because there's always more future ahead of you. But when you say, oh, I did that, and it was wonderful, and I have so much gratitude that that happened and that I accomplished that.
I know that was what the Lord wanted, and I did it, and I'm so grateful. Even though you haven't even done it yet, I find that is, for me at least, the best way to set a goal and achieve it.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:10:57.800 - 00:10:59.000
As if you already had.
Jerusha Smith
00:10:59.240 - 00:11:00.520
As if I already had.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:11:01.000 - 00:11:51.550
Balance isn't standing still. It is the rhythm of your next step.
Whether you're focusing on the stature with a weighted vest or your spirit through silence, you are moving forward. If you're ready to map out your own four category plan, go download our free A Guide to Goal Setting for Christian Women.
It features a worksheet specifically designed to help you identify your goals for this season.
And if you need an accountability group to help you stay in the rhythm of walking toward your divine mission, come join our accountability group for two weeks for free and see if we're a good fit for you. We'll drop the links for those in the show notes below. Until next time, take your right next step Today Arise. Do it God's way, God Strong.
