Ecclesiastes 8:6
"Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him."
Goals, plans and desires are plenteous with many people.
Often you hear people say, "I plan on doing..." The problem is not that people don't have goals and plans of what they want to do, the problems is that they don't seem to move from the desire to the accomplishment.
Accomplishment is one of the most important elements that divides the successful from the average. If you were to sit down and write out all of your accomplishments, how many would you be able to write down? The amount of goals a person has doesn't really mean much. It is how much they accomplish that really matters. I would rather have a person work for me who only has a few goals at a time, but they accomplish them, than someone who has many goals and has never accomplished one of them.
Moving from desire to accomplishment is where many people struggle. In the verse above you find there is a little formula that helps a person move from desire to accomplishment. Let me point out what this verse teaches.
First, you must have a purpose. "Purpose" is defined as, "the reason for which something is done." You will never accomplish something if you don't have a purpose for doing it. Simply ask yourself, "What am I trying to accomplish with what I am doing?" This is a key question to get you started. The purpose will define what you are going to do. The purpose will show your destination. Without purpose accomplishment will not be achieved.
Second, there must be a schedule of deadlines to accomplish tasks. God says, "there is time" involved in purpose. In other words, you must sit down and write out a schedule of when you are going to be at certain junctures of your purpose. I often tell people to break down their purpose into segments, then make a deadline to finish each segment. People work off deadlines, and without a deadline you will continue to put things off.
Third, don't expect immediate results. Accomplishment takes time. You must not quit because it's taking too much time. Longevity is always an important element in accomplishing projects. Be patient with your time schedule.
Fourth, have a plan, then follow the plan. Judgment is simply planning. You must have a plan of how to accomplish your task. In the plan, you need to figure out every obstacle and how to overcome them. This is another important means to accomplishment.
Fifth, expect hard times. The verse says, "...the misery of man is great upon him." When it gets tough, don't quit. One of the main differences between those who accomplish things and those who don't is the one who accomplishes things keeps going when it gets tough. You must expect what you're doing to be hard, so don't quit when it get tough. Just keep taking one more step until you accomplish your task.
Accomplishment is always sweet when achieved. Fulfillment in life will only come if you have accomplishments. Accomplishment should be achieved every day, month and year. When you accomplish something in this pattern, then at the end of life you will have many accomplishments from which you can look back and receive satisfaction. I challenge you to find something to accomplish within the next year.