While the start of the New Year is widely known as a time for setting goals, some surprising statistics suggest otherwise. According to several studies, including Harvard Goals Research, only 3% of the population sets goals and only 1% of the population writes them down. By the end of the first week in January, 25% of those who have set New Year’s goals have given up. And by the end of the second week, the percentage falls to 71%.
Don’t be discouraged! You don’t have to be a statistic. While, according to these statistics, it may seem that setting goals is of no value, as a leader and more so as a Christian, we believe it is not only helpful but essential for your personal growth.
Our God is a God of order. He has intentionally designed us to reflect Him by living on purpose and with a purpose. We were not created to sit back and let life happen to us.
Setting, working towards and achieving goals is just one of the ways we can live with purpose and practice godly discipline. “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5
In light of this, let us consider how to set sustainable and achievable goals for this year and beyond.
1. Invite God Into The Process
While it is tempting to jump right into goal setting, as Christians we acknowledge that our purposes are not our own, and our plans are futile unless they are anointed by and stemming from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Begin by being alone, quieting your heart and seeking the Lord for what He has in store for you. Once you have sought the Lord in prayer, take time to be still and listen for His response. He desires to reveal Himself to us and promises that when we seek Him we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).
Lastly, seek godly counsel who can help identify needed areas of growth in your life or speak a new word over you that you have not considered.
2. Identify And Write Down Goals And Dreams
Next, sit down and begin writing (or typing!). Don’t worry about organizing at this point, just “braindump” your thoughts. Individuals who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them, according to goal-setting statistics. So this step is imperative for your success!
Once you have everything written out, identify which of your desires are goals and which are dreams. Goals are those things that are realistic, attainable and relevant to your life right now. Dreams are your long-term hopes or things you aspire to achieve at some point in life. The difference will become clear as you consider your constraints, whether it be financial, time, or something else. Your goals must be things that are sustainable for you in the coming year. Anything else is a dream (for now!).
Still, write down and keep track of your dreams as you are planning your goals for the year. You will be surprised by how many dreams turn into goals once you’ve written them out.
3. Get Specific
After you’ve identified your goals, it’s time to focus on them and get specific. This is the process of taking your general goal and then breaking it down to be as specific as possible. Do this over and over until you can’t break it down anymore.
For example, if your goal is to “see church growth.” Break it down by getting more and more specific about what that actually means. It may look something like this:
- See church growth
- Gain 50 new members by the end of the year
- Bring in and engage with 10 visitors every month
- Grow new members class by five visitors each month
- Contact one visitor about attending a new members class every week
From here, you naturally have several launching points from which to develop strategies. From this example, new, specific goals are starting to emerge such as “start a new members class.” “Focus efforts on reaching people outside of the church through marketing, community outreach, etc.” “Develop a welcome team to engage with visitors.” “Create new first-time visitor cards.” And so on.
In this process of breaking down and being more specific, your goals have been transformed from a mere wish to an actionable plan.
4. Focus on Developing Habits
In addition to thinking about what you would like to achieve in the new year, take some time to think about the person you ultimately want to become. Then, write out some specific habits you would like to start or refine this year.
Habits are regularly occurring behaviors or events that happen daily or weekly. Things like “wake up before 7 a.m.” “Go to the gym 3 times a week.” “Meet with a mentor or mentee twice a month.” You might even find that as you have broken down your goals into smaller and smaller steps, some of them are starting to look like habits that can be implemented into your routine!
If your large goal is to have 100 new members by the end of the year, maybe a corresponding habit would be to intentionally engage with a stranger every time you are in a coffee shop. Buy someone a coffee and invite them to church once a week. Or make a habit of greeting your neighbors.
These seemingly small, habitual goals are easy to achieve and to measure, but will catapult you into a lifestyle of discipline and motivation that will carry over into your yearly goals.
They also serve as stepping stones to reaching your larger goals!
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11
5. Consistently Check In
Studies have shown that those who set goals with the intention of achieving them within a certain amount of time, AND who start tracking their progress weekly are 40% more likely to achieve them compared to those who set goals without time limits or intent of tracking. Setting time-bound goals ensures that you are consistently working towards them.
Once goals have been set and actionable items and habits have been broken down and written out, determine regular times of checking in. Take every evening before bed or at the end of every week to check back through your habits. Take the beginning of every month to revisit your goal and choose one or two to really focus on for that month. Go back through quarterly or mid-year to review which goals are still relevant and refine any action plans.
6. Remember Your Worth
As a Christian, it is already easy to fall into a “checklist” mentality. “Read Bible. Check. Pray. Check. Go to church. Check.” It’s tempting to use goal setting as another avenue to simply achieve or to create self-worth.
While it’s true that we were created for good works (Ephesians 2:10), we must remember that our identity and worth are ultimately in the work that Jesus achieved for us on the cross. There is nothing we can do (or not do) to earn favor with Him.
True transformation of life comes through the work of the Holy Spirit. So our main goal is to yield to what He is trying to do in our lives.
You can stay accountable to your goals and pursue growth through our leadership development services this year! Learn more about what we offer and let this be a year marked by overwhelming success and growth with Langley Leadership Group.
