Happy 2015! With every new year, there is a rush to make resolutions and goals. Some quibble over these words. Others ponder and think on them. While others, simply do anything that comes in front of them. Today I want to revisit, maybe for my own sake, the discipline of setting goals. On resolutions, John Piper, pastor for many years and author of many books, asks this question, “How do you make resolutions?” He answers it by saying, “By God’s grace. Through faith in God’s power. For God’s glory.” So, this is my hope for this year: to set goals with God in clear view, work through faith and do them for His glory.
There’s a lot of talk about goals, resolutions, plans and other great things that people want to accomplish in 2015. A lot of it is good. But, one thing I’ve learned is that when one sets a goal and does not set out a plan to accomplish it, they don’t succeed in reaching it. And by “succeed” I don’t mean accomplishing that particular goal, but rather by really working towards it. I think all of us want to succeed in accomplishing our goals, but for those who will not accomplish them at the end, the question should be, “Did I work towards accomplishing it?” Maybe you won’t succeed in meeting your goal, but it wasn’t because you were lazy and did not set actionable steps to meet it. Rather, it was because as you were trying to accomplish it, x, y, or z didn’t line up for you and you goal was rethought or tweaked on the way.
For example, maybe your goal las year was to buy a home. It was an audacious goal, a goal that would need a lot of work, so you got to working on it. During the middle of the year, you were working towards that goal and were struck by tragedy (job loss, pay cut, personal struggle, whatever…) that hindered you from meeting your goal. December 31 came and you didn’t find yourself in a home of your own. As many would like to call that a failure, I would call that somewhat of a success. Because the question was not, “did you meet your goal?” The real question is, “Did you work hard towards your goal?” Some goals you’ll accomplish, some you won’t, but all the goals you set you’ll want to work hard towards.
I have a few examples of goals that I, along with my wife, set in early 2014 that were met by the end of the year. Others were not. But, that is not to say that we didn’t try… or that we were not working hard towards accomplishing them. You try. You work hard. You go for it! So what if you didn’t get to the finish one last year?! There is still this new year. My encouragement to you is to set a goal this year and also work hard towards accomplishing it. Someone once said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” So, stop wishing, set a goal that has a plan and work hard to accomplish it. If you don’t meet it, let it be because of legitimate factors you saw on the way to complete it that made you rethink and tweak your goal. But, never let your goal fail because you didn’t work the plan that came with that goal.
I am an avid podcaster. Maybe not as avid, but I listen to podcasts most of the time I’m driving somewhere. One podcast I listen to is Michael Hyatt’s This is Your Life. Michael Hyatt, former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and bestselling author, says, “25 percent of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions after one week. 60 percent abandon them within six months.” In his 10 Biggest Mistakes in Goal Setting, Hyatt gives us these mistakes that I hope to avoid this coming year in setting my goals. Here they are. I hope they are of help to you.:
Mistake 1: People don’t write their goals down.
Mistake 2: People have too many goals.
Instead, set 5-7 goals.
Mistake 3: People only focus only on one area in their life.
Focus on you spiritual life, personal growth, family, career, hobbies, etc.
Mistake 4: People don’t make their goals specific.
Mistake 5: People don’t make their goals measurable.
How many pounds do you plan to lose? How much more money will you save? How much more/less time will you spend on…?
Mistake 6: People don’t assign a due date.
By when do yo plan to meet this goal?
Mistake 7: People don’t keep goals visible.
Print them out and put them on the fridge, use as screensaver, make a vision board, etc.
Mistake 8: Pople don’t stretch outside their comfort zone.
Mistake 9: People don’t make compelling goals.
Compelling goals are spiritually-meaningful, intellectually-stimulating, emotionally-energizing, physically-challenging.
Mistake 10: People don’t identify the next action.
Whats the next thing I need to do to move forward with this goal?
If you are interested in listening to the full podcast, click the link below.
There is much to say on this topic. But, I’m not an expert at it. I am constantly learning from other people. Here are a few resources for you to read up on as you stare at the long road that 2015 has for you and say, “God willing, I hope to accomplish (fill in the blank).”
1. The Gospel Coalition: Don’t Just Make a Resolution, Make a Habit
2. Michael Hyatt Podcast: 10 Biggest Mistakes in Goal Setting
Tony Villatoro 