As the new year is quickly approaching and 2020 comes to an end, I know many are looking forward to the new year. 2020 was indeed a very challenging year for many. It has been a very hard year on some level or another for most people. Families and friends that have been impacted by Covid 19, multiple hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, business closures and loss of income, and even the emotional struggles from limited face-to-face social interactions. Then there are all of the “normal” struggles that each of us deal with in living our lives every day. We are all ready to “move on” with our lives.
I hear people talk about how ready they are for 2020 to be over. But what will be different with 2021? Just because the calendar tics over one more day, things do not magically improve overnight. But I do understand that, mentally, the changing of the calendars on our wall represent an opportunity to start new. We all set goals for the year. Some spend a lot of time thinking through what they want to accomplish or change in the coming year. Some make a quick list on December 31st as they wait for the clock to strike midnight. As we set those goals for 2021 there are three things I have been thinking about. Three thought process that I need to change in my goal setting that may be helpful to you as you look to the new year.
I need to change the way I think about things. 2021 will not be much different than 2020. The calendar does not make things suddenly improve, it is our thinking that will make things improve. When people ask me if I’m having a good day, my answer is almost always a resounding “yes!” Why? Because I am the one who gets to decide if it is a good day or not. Yes, there are days that I decide I don’t want to have a good day and I allow my circumstances or events to rule my attitude. But for the most part, my days are good because I choose to have a good day. How I talk about my day or my year will change my attitude. My previous post talks some about the power of the words we speak. 2021 will me a better year, not because my circumstances will change, but because my attitude will change.
The second thought on setting goals and plans for a better 2021 is changing the goals that we set. I sat down a few weeks ago and started writing a list of some possible goals for the year. Things that I wanted to accomplish and tasks that I need to complete. As I was going through the list, many of them are typical goals for most of us…
- Spend more time with family
- Get in shape, exercise, eat healthy
- Advancements in my career or business
- Read more, learn a new skill or hobby
- Home improvement projects
- Vacation plans for the year
When I finished, I had a very long list of tasks that I needed to go through and decide which of these I wanted to do this year. As I looked through this very long list, I realized that every one of these tasks and goals were entirely focused on me. I had nothing on my list to serve others or to make my community a better place, except maybe power washing and painting my house and replacing my fence. Still something for me, but I know my neighbors would appreciate it.
I write my blog posts about things that I need. In my Sunday posts, I have been going through the book of James in the Bible. I have written posts about what James calls “pure religion” and faith being an action word. Doing vs talking. As I look through my list of goals for the year, I begin to realize that I have not prioritized the action part of my faith. I do many things throughout the year that put my faith into practice, but typically they are opportunities that happen come up throughout the year. They are not goals that I have set or projects that I have planned. That’s o.k., but what if I added some of that into my goals for the year and maybe took off a couple of the goals that are about making my life more comfortable?
The third thing I have been thinking about the last few days is the types of goals I set. I have a long list of projects and tasks that I want to accomplish. Some of these projects keep showing up on my list year after year and they never seem to get completed. Maybe I need to look at setting some different goals? This long list of tasks to be completed is good, but maybe there is something even more important. Maybe I need to set some goals on how I live my life, instead of what I live my life doing.
- I am a healthy person and I live a healthy, active lifestyle
- I am a giving person and I help and support other people and organizations.
- I live a life of excellence and quality. Whatever I decide to do, I do with excellence and to the best of my ability. Excellence is not having the best car or best house and nicest stuff, it is keeping the house and car you have clean and maintained, and, more importantly, what do I do with that stuff?
- I live a life of joy. I have fun and am not concerned about what other people say about me. I live my life enjoying God’s creation in nature and the people around me.
Maybe I need to change my list from things I want to do and create a list of the person God has called me to be. Change and grow in character and maybe some of those things that have been on my list for years will start to get done… or I’ll realize some of them just aren’t as important as I thought they were. But I do still need to paint the house and replace the fence. That falls under both the living a life of excellence and serving/improving my community categories.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33
What are some of your goals for the year? What changes do you want to make? Let me know in the comments below.
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