My Approach To Goal Setting And Planning The New Year

Whether you want to believe it or not, a new year is upon us.

In addition to yuletide carols being sung, folks dressing like eskimos, and ox and lamb keeping time, this is a season where we think hard about what we’re working towards in the new year.

It’s a time of reflection on 2013 and planning for 2014.

I believe this is healthy. Remember what Socrates said?

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

An effective, productive life is a life that is intentional and thoughtful. You don’t just want to coast blindly through your days, hoping the best will happen. It’s important to think through all your different roles and make sure you are living out God’s best.

My 10 Commitments for 2014

To start things off, I’m going to share with you my commitments for 2014. What I’ve done is taken all my different roles (Christian, Husband, Dad, Worship Leader, Business Owner) and created a declaration about what I want to see happen.

Then, I’ll share with you how it will get done.

I’m sharing my ten commitments in hopes that it will inspire you to make your own.

So here we go. My 10 commitments:

1. I commit to gaze steadily upon the glory of God every day, in front of crowds or by myself, to put my life in its proper context.

2. I commit to read and study God’s Words more than I think upon my own ideas.

3. I commit to stay madly in love with my wife.

4. I commit to loving my kids and creating an atmosphere in our home for God’s presence, creativity, exploration, conversation and fun.

5. I commit to growing the revenues of my business for the good of my family, and the spread of Christ’s Kingdom on the earth.

6. I commit to serving my church in worship, working hard to engage them in declarative, upward, Christ centered worship.

7. I commit to a healthy diet (and controlled blood sugars – I’m diabetic), viewing healthy eating as an adventure in trying new foods and flavors.

8. I commit to daily exercise – knowing that a healthy body has a direct impact upon all the other areas of my life.

9. I commit to viewing troubles and trials as opportunities for growth and catalysts for possibility, rather than being surprised and frustrated and entitled to a life of ease.

10. I commit to raising up passionate disciples of Jesus on my worship team – kingdom minded with a passion for excellence.

Where This Really Gets Good

This next step is where the good times really start to roll. I want you to take each point and create a repeating, recurring commitment on your calendar. Like for real. Physically do it.

Bust out your iCal. Get a paper calendar. Get each of your commitments on your calendar.

At this point you’ll be tempted to schedule all of them every day. We can be a bit overzealous with resolutions. But that only leads to giving up two weeks in.

Rather, start by scheduling something once a month or once a week and stick to it. Make a habit out of it. What doesn’t get on your calendar does not get done.

Looking at this blog post every day isn’t good enough. It’s got to happen. For the good of your soul, your family, your church, and the world, it’s got to happen.

I’d love to hear from you and what you’re thinking for 2014. What are your commitments? What are you looking forward to? What are you scared of?

Let’s talk. You can leave a comment by clicking here.

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