Faith-Based Goal Setting for the New Year

Faith-Based Goal Setting for the New Year

Brett Clemmer, President/CEO 

I just cancelled my gym membership. It was not necessarily a “New Year’s Resolution” per se, but I did get it in January…two years ago. The day I cancelled it was the second time I had been in the gym. Pathetic, I know!

Most New Year’s Resolutions are like this–well-intentioned and short-lived. And focused on ‘fixing’ something we don’t like about ourselves. But truly, if simply knowing you had a weakness you should fix was enough, you wouldn’t need a resolution…or a sale on gym memberships.

So ditch those New Year’s Resolutions, and think about this simple way to look at what the year ahead will hold. Grab a pen and your journal or that notetaking app on your phone, find a quiet place to sit and think, and try this simple three-step New Year’s process:

1. Review the Past Year 

Start by reflecting over the last year. Answer these questions:

1. What were the biggest events of my life over the last year?
2. What were my biggest successes? What were my biggest disappointments?
3. Where did I see God’s hand in my life? What did he help me accomplish? What did he save me from?
4. List out a few words that sum up the previous year. (e.g., Surprises, Change, Fulfillment, Heartache)

2. Review Your Calling

Have you ever thought about what God made you for? Your purpose, or calling? Part of this is the roles you are in: husband, father, son, friend, worker, ministry leader, etc. Part of this is your personality: outgoing, private, serious, joyful, etc. Part of this is the social roles you play: leader, organizer, team player, loner, etc. What other categories can you think of that describe who you are? How might those impact God’s calling on your life?

Take a few minutes to answer the following questions to help you think through this:

1. How would you describe yourself? Write down ten words that capture your personality, skills, experiences, and interests.
2. In your life, what kinds of activities bring you the most joy? What activities make you anxious, bored, or frustrated?
3. Spend some time in prayer, reviewing your lists, and pray this simple prayer: “Lord, what did you make me for? What have you called me to be? Who do you want me to serve?” Make sure to journal your thoughts as they come to mind while you pray. The Holy Spirit may be whispering in your ear! 

3. Review Your Commitments

As the New Year begins, you don’t actually have a clean sheet of paper to start from. You already have commitments to family and friends, events on your calendar, projects to complete, etc. Try this exercise:

1. Make a list of all the commitments you already have for 2025. Check your calendar, ask your wife and friends, etc.
2. Does your list seem overwhelming? What items are cluttering your calendar, your thoughts, or your other commitments? Are there things you need to remove if possible? 
3. Do your current commitments seem to support or hinder you pursuing what God has called you to do and be?

4. Review Your Relationships

This one’s simple. 

1. Write down the names of everyone you spend time with or want to spend time with regularly. Prioritize them in order of importance to you. Wife, children, best friend, etc.
2. Do your priorities match the intentionality with which you approach each of those relationships? How could you improve?
3. Are there any unhealthy relationships you need to withdraw from? People who make you less godly, instead of more godly? How will you do that?
4. Pray for the Lord to guide you as you seek to strengthen your most important relationships, and remove unhealthy ones from your life?

5. Don’t Make Resolutions, Set Goals

OK, now for the fun part: You’re going to set Five Goals for the year ahead: One big annual goal, and four smaller quarterly goals. It will look like this:

1. By the end of the year I will… (be out of debt, run a half marathon, get a new job, memorize the Old Testament…just seeing if you’re still reading).
2. Four smaller goals I would like to achieve are:
   1. Read one book every three months
   2. Find a men’s group to join
   3. Take my wife on a nice vacation
   4. Run three miles without resting
3. Try and schedule one smaller goal per quarter, and set a deadline. What book will you read each quarter? When do the men’s groups start, or can I join one right away? When can I schedule vacation? If I’m going to run a half marathon by the end of the year, when should I be able to run three miles by? So it might look like this:
   1. January-March: Read The Man in the Mirror, join a men’s group.
   2. April-June: Run 3 miles without stopping, read an action novel.
   3. July-September: Take my wife to an AirBnB, read The Men We Need.
   4. October-December: Run a half-marathon.
4. Looking at your goals, do they seem SMART? Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Sensitive.
5. What steps might you need to take for each goal? For instance, to run 3 miles,  you might download a “Couch to 5K” app to give you a running plan.

Now you have a set of goals and a plan to achieve them. Congratulations. 

Unfortunately, you’re still likely to fail, UNLESS YOU…

6. Ask a Brother or Two to Help You

Chances are, you will start off strong and slowly lose momentum if you try and do this alone. God saw Adam in the garden and said it is not good for man to be alone, so He made him a helper. Ecclesiastes points out that two are better than one, and a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Find a brother or two to share your plan with. Better yet, get them to do it too, and talk through your answers together. Hold each other accountable–lovingly–to be diligent and intentional. Encourage each other. Exhort each other. Build each other up. Celebrate successes together, pick the one up who fails and spur him on to keep trying.

And when the next year rolls around, you can see how far you’ve come and begin the process again of decluttering your life and focusing on being the man God made you to be, and doing the things God made you to do.

And always remember that we can plan, but the Lord directs our path. So hold your plans loosely, bathe them in prayer, share them in community, and pursue them diligently and humbly.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

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If you want a more structured and formal way of doing this exercise, look for the Vision Journal on www.manithemirror.org. This journal will take you on a 13-Session Journal to set measurable goals, and establish daily and weekly habits to help you achieve them.