A Fresh Start

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Happy New Year!

The year is over! A new year and decade are about to start!

Is it really that big of a deal? What does it actually mean to have a fresh start? These thoughts have been swirling through my head for the past month.

When contemplating such ideas, I can’t help but reflect not just on the past year, but also on the past ten years.

That, of course, leads to a plethora of questions. What goals have I set? Did I accomplish any of the things I set out to do? Did I really maximize that time and make good use of every moment?

Reflection

The older I get, the more I realize the need for setting goals and having a clear direction for life.

When you are a child your goal is to get to the next grade, learn to drive, graduate, etc. Then perhaps you move on to college and have the goal to get that dream job. But then what?

If you don’t continue to set goals for yourself, you will quickly become stagnate and lose your sense of direction. However, for some of us, setting lofty goals and then working towards them can become more challenging.

It seems that the “comfort factor” kicks in. We have a harder time seeing outside the box of day to day and when we do, fear will often paralyze our efforts.

Setting Goals

As a teacher, I spend a lot of time working with my students on setting goals.

We will look at their past work and discuss what goal they have for themselves. This often does not take the expected direction.

The problem lies in the fact that they will see what someone else is doing and want to set a goal to do the same thing.

In reality, not everyone is in the same place or ready for the same thing. There are many smaller steps or goals that need to be reached before they are ready for that higher level goal.

It then becomes my job to navigate them towards the smaller goals that are more of a nudge in the right direction. I know that these small nudges are what is best for my students.

Why is it then, that I will see a fresh start on the horizon and start setting goals that are unrealistic? I start thinking that I need to set goals to improve my life in the areas of health, finances, spiritual, work, etc.

That in and of itself wouldn’t be so bad. The problem is that my goals are usually higher level and involve skipping the little nudges along the way.

This leaves me frustrated at the lack of progress I see which leads to giving up on the goal altogether.

New Year’s Resolution?

I stopped setting New Year’s Resolutions a few years ago.

There is a lot of societal pressure to make a huge list of things that we will resolve to do during the course of the year. I have noticed that these resolutions are frequently the unrealistic, unattainable goals I previously mentioned.

Research shows that at least a third of these resolutions are broken before the end of January. I do not have enough will power to maintain a laundry list of resolutions that are likely way above my current ability level.

However, I still believe in the importance of setting goals.

Word of the Year

Selecting a word that represents where you want to go during the course of the year has been a great help.

My word for this year is determined. After much prayer and thought, this is the word I believe the Lord laid on my heart for this year. After selecting the word, I write it on a chalkboard located in my dining room.

Underneath the word, I write a scripture verse that encompasses the essence of the word and what it will mean for the year. I love having this hang in a prominent location in my home.

It keeps the thought in front of me at all times and helps me to memorize the scripture verse that goes with it.

Providing Focus

So, how does all this tie together and how will it help me stay focused this year?

I am determined that this year I will not just take in more information for the purpose of expanding my head knowledge. I want to apply at least one thing from everything I learn.

I have determined that I will focus on the areas of health, finances, spiritual growth, and work. I am determined to take a small nudge forward in each of those areas each month.

By following this process, it is possible to take 12 small “nudges” forward in each area by the end of the year.

While I may get to the end of 2020 and not be able to say that I have accomplished this huge resolution, I will be able to say that I have made steady progress.

Steady progress forward is always better than starting something and giving up. In the end, I will be ready for those harder challenges sooner than I ever could have imagined.