As 2014 nears its end, many of us are thinking of what we hope the New Year will bring. There’s a sense of mystery and excitement at the start of a fresh new year!
You may be hoping for a new job or opportunity at work, a new or strengthened relationship, applying to college or finishing your degree, losing weight, or delving deeper into a hobby. I usually try to have at least one goal or resolution per year but I don’t always make them at the beginning of each year. A lot of times, as the year progresses, I may come up with one or two extra along the way.
I’ve always felt that goals are important in life, but for me it’s not even about accomplishing all the goals on my list. Here are 4 reasons I think everyone should at least consider making a New Year’s resolution.
1. They can focus your mind toward where you want to be, who you want to become, and what you want to accomplish as the year nears the end. It’s a way to clear your mind, reflect on what’s important to you, and move in a positive direction. I’ve always found it to be fun coming up with goals that would help improve myself and, in return, those around me too!
For this year, I had one professional goal in relation to my writing and I’m happy to say that I’ve met it with this article! It’s been so much fun to exercise my writing muscles and to see what God does has done through that! I even have a bigger writing goal now set for 2015!
2. In the midst of a busy, face-paced year, concrete goals can give you focus and stability. You see, 2014 was a little rocky for me. It may have been for you too. There were a lot of wonderful things that happened, but also some challenging moments here and there. It was helpful for me to have set goals in mind to keep me grounded and focused on the important things.
To accomplish my goals, I decided to create some spreadsheets to track my progress. This might not be your style, but in order for me to feel progress, I really wanted to be able to see it visually too. I set a physical exercise goal that included a 10-week program and a financial goal that would, in the end, give me peace of mind. I worked hard on them and ended up meeting them both!
The goals were like tiny little stepping-stones I could leap onto as I made my way through some deep waters. The stability of the goals was just as important to me as actually meeting them. Once I met my goals for the year, I even found myself wishing I had another one because the resolutions kept me on my toes and kept my focus looking forward in a positive way.
So, maybe you made a goal for 2014 and didn’t see it through. Did it leave you feeling discouraged and doubtful? Are you unsure if you should even attempt it again or set another one for 2015?
None of us are perfect. Please remember that. Don’t let it discourage you but encourage you to move forward!
3. If we can look at goals as things that can help us become more self-aware and use them to better care for ourselves, then it can take the pressure off of the “performance” part of it. Even if you don’t meet the exact percentage, get that one position, meet that someone special, or achieve the weight loss number you were striving to achieve, you can know that you were better for it! It’s the process that is usually the most interesting part of learning anyway.
4. Just by striving towards your dreams, you can’t imagine the amount of people that will be positively impacted! So feel free to let others you trust know your goals too. You’ll not only have a cheerleading team behind you but you will undoubtedly encourage them by watching you on your journey!
Let me encourage you to celebrate yourself if you met or even attempted to meet a positive and healthy goal this past year. Remember to continue to dream your dreams for the New Year.
Let God cultivate in you His will and use your talents to bless others!
