New Year, New Goals
I’m a huge proponent of writing goals down.
In the new year you get to start fresh, “turn over a new leaf”, and begin new things! Instead of making New Year Resolutions, make New Year Goals! Resolutions are easy to mess up, as most include working out every single day or eating only things that are green…which is just not always feasible. However, goals are a different story.
1. Goals are measurable.
You need to be able to measure your progress. Set goals that are challenging, but attainable. When you reach them, you can always set more! It doesn’t have to be January 1!
2. Goals are exciting.
So often, we guilt ourselves into creating resolutions: deleting things in our lives that we feel are bad. Setting goals changes the perspective! Your goals need to be something that you really want to achieve and something that will drive you to chase after them.
3. Goals allow progress, even when you stumble a little.
Resolutions normally get thrown out the window when you drink that first coke January 15th that you said you wouldn’t drink at all this year. Goals give room for set backs, but are always something to strive toward. Stumbling once doesn’t mean failure. It just means that you are still needing to continue striving toward your goals.
4. Goals create vision.
You know where you want to be… and it’s not just a person who only drinks water or goes to the gym often. Goals are the roadmap to a destination. When you know where you are going, you can then determine how to get there. When you don’t really know the end goal, you will almost always get lost along the way or maybe end up somewhere you don’t want to be. Write goals down and keep them in front of you daily. I’d even suggest writing them down at least a few times a week and reviewing your progress toward them.
5. Goals are scalable.
Resolutions are normally thought of in a one-year frame, not a progressive journey. I like to create goals every year (at least) for one year from now, three years from now, five years from now, and ten years from now. Goals can absolutely change, but this gives me a vision of what I really am striving toward. I also like to include “be” verbs in these goals, including the character that I want to continue to grow in.
Here’s your challenge: Make goals, not just resolutions today for your personal life, as well as your ministry.
Ready. Set. Go.