Rather than making the same old new years resolutions, that you forget about by 1st Feb, why not begin this year with prayer and writing down some S.M.A.R.T goals for the year ahead.
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-Bound
The overarching question that you need to consider is what do I want my life to look like in the next 5 years, and then work backwards to figure out how to get there from the way your life looks today.
To make this task less overwhelming, try breakingdown your goals into the following categories asking yourself questions to help det your goals:
• 1 Spiritual- How is your relationship with God? Do you need to improve your commitment to/ consistency with spiritual disciplines like prayer, bible reading etc?
• 2 Relational- What is the quality of your relationships at rhe moment? Are there things you want to do that you didn’t have/ make time to do last year? Set intentional goals in your marriage, with your kids, siblings, parents, friends etc.
• 3 Physical-How are you treating your body? Are you more tired than you’d like to be? Are u getting a right balance with your health- eating, exercise, sleep, stress management ?
• 4 Mental - Are you growing/ developing? Are you maximizing your potential? This can be on a Career or a personal level- Training courses, development and reading. E.g. take a professional training course, find a mentor, set a reading challenge for the year.
• 5 Financial - Do you have an up to date budget? Does it need to be revisited? Look at your income and spending over the previous year. Make specific plans for tithing, saving long and short term giving, spending. Shop around for better deals for accounts, subscriptions and utilities.
• 6 Ministerial - reflect on the past year and what u want to see happen in the new year. Ask God for a key focus for the year, e.g. 3 people to disciple, a new ministry idea
• 7 Faith- This js a specific area that you want to step out and believe God for e.g. job change, witness to family members, new business venture.
There are so many ideas and suggestions online to help guide you through the process of setting goals for the New Year. Unless you conscious set aside time to set goals, you are unlikely to be able to see your development as it is often a slow process. Make time , set goals, and trust God to help you to fulfill his purpose for your life today!
