It's that time of the year again! Along with it comes the onslaught of new dreams, fresh goals, and minds committed to getting it all done!
With that being said, we all know we won't always meet all the goals we set out to accomplish. This can be for several reasons; Sometimes, life simply gets in the way. Unexpected events, good, bad, and indifferent, pop up in our timelines and we have to pause or stop our goal chasing all together. For those who are with this currently, I totally empathize with you.
Then, there are some people who just don't know where to start when it comes to setting goals. Setting goals sounds like an easy thing to do, but I believe some extra thought is needed to create goals that are measurable, attainable, and reachable! Maybe you don't know where to begin because you have a bunch of wonderful ideas, and you want to narrow things down, but you don't know where to start. Or, perhaps you had a difficult year and you're not sure how to pick yourself up to give goal-setting another go. This can leave us feeling drained and overwhelmed before we ever really begin.
Praise God that we serve an awesome, strong, and wide God who can help us pull together this New Year and run after each thing He places on our hearts. Might I add that because of His grace and mercy, we can do so in excellency!
If your in the process of planning your 2018 New Year goals, wonderful! Grab a pen and paper and jot some of these tips down so you can reflect on them and incorporate them into your New Year strategizing.
Her are seven practical ways to create and meet your goals for the upcoming year:
1. PRAY
This is at the top of the list because it's most important. God knows our entire 2018 from this moment. Scripture tells us that, "the moment of our lives has been laid out before a single day has passed." Psalms 139:16. WOW! Since God knows each of our days, we should pray and ask Him for his input regarding our goals and dreams for the New Year. God is more than a genie or fortune-teller. He is able and willing to show you the things on which he wants you to focus.
2. Decide to Continue Running After Your Unmet 2017 Goals.
Let's be honest. sometimes we don't knock off all the goals we set at the beginning of the year, by the end of the year. Hindsight truly is 20/20, and since we have the advantage of looking at all our goals from the end of the year, we can see the ones that we didn't reach and then start vetting through them. We can ask ourselves questions like, "Does this goal still align with where I am in my life right now or does God have me focusing on something else.". OR, "Is now the time to complete this goal, or is this something that I can plan for down the line?" You don't want to scrap all of your unmet 2017 goals altogether just because the New Year is coming because there may be things you didn't finish that just may take longer than a year to complete!
3. Create a New Year Tradition.
Traditions are a fun and practical way to create your New year goals! They breathe fun back into to the process and can be as low key, or not, as you'd like! There are people who turn this goal setting into an opportunity to get together, learn about each other and make boards for the year! Whatever you decide to do will get you excited to crush your New Year goals!
4. Tell Someone Else About Your Goals!
Telling someone else about your goals can be like striking a goldmine. Accountability partners are wonderful assets to our lives because they help to keep us on track after the thrill of goal setting is gone. Sometimes, if we are fortunate enough, we have more than one trusted friend to help us remain accountable to the goals we've set. When people believe in you and help cheer you on, you can accomplish amazing things simply because you are supported.
5. Make Visual Reminders.
Making goals and writing them down is a wonderful way to make things plain and get the thoughts out of your head. But I say, why not take it one step further than simply writing your goals down in a notebook somewhere, or in the "Notes" app of your phone. Your goals can easily become distant memories if you aren't looking at them on a regular basis. Maybe try writing the goals in multiple places; one of those places being one that you see on a regular basis, that way you can be reminded of your goals. Research shows that we are more likely to achieve our goals if we see them on a regular basis.
Another cool thing to do is to create pictures of whatever goal you're currently focusing on and making that thing the background image of your phone or computer, or print out a picture and tape it to your vanity mirror. The more you see the things you are working towards, the more motivated you can get about completing those things!
6. Create Annual Pit Stops.
The things we say we want to accomplish in January may take on a different shape or form by August. If we aren't careful, we can be working tirelessly on a goal that has changed from the thing we originally told ourselves. It's wise to keep up to date with our goals by creating pit stops throughout the year. For example, I try to look at where I stand with my goals every three months. This is the time that I look to see what things are currently working and which things I need to adjust, that way I can measure my actual progress. There's no point in creating awesome goals if we can't measure ourselves and the progress we make to meet them along the way!
7. Break Your Goals Down.
There are bound to be a few big goals on your New Year list. Things that will have major impacts on your career, family, and day-to-day life. For those goals, the task at hand can seem so incredibly large and you can get overwhelmed easily with trying to get it all done. Try breaking those big goals into smaller, mini goals! Then, as you complete those smaller goals, do something to celebrate the completion of it and to mark the fact that you are one step closer to meeting your goals than you were before. That is something to be proud of and will give you the push you need to keep going so you can crush those other mini goals!
The reality is that yes most of us tend to set New Year goals, but you can also remember that you can set new goals at anytime. Whether you do it at the first of the year or middle, or even end, remember these steps to help guide you to do God's will.
Let's pray:
Lord,
Thank you that you make all things new. Thank you for all that you've allowed into our lives this past year, the good along with the hard things, which have reminded us how much we need you and rely on your presence filling us every single day. Shine your light on us, though us, over us. May we make a difference in this world, for your glory and purpose. Set you way before us. May all your plans succeed. We may reflect your peace and hope to a world that so desperately needs your presence and healing.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen
With Love,
B
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