Happy New Year!!!
It's a new year! New hopes. New Dreams. New Goals.
I don't know what it is about the new year that gives energy and hope! But is does this for so many of us!
My theme for this year is Give, Live and Finish. Yaaaas! What's yours?
Like many of you, I've been working on Dreams/Goals for this year, creating actionable steps to take in order to reach that desired end result.
I even have a few friends/accountability partners for this journey. We touch base via the app Marco Polo or text every day to share our goals for the day, what we did the previous day and how we saw the Lord--Good Stuff, right!? (There are studies that have shown that we are more likely to accomplish our goals if we 1. Write them down 2. Tell someone.)
So far so good!
I will share my Dreams with my accountability partners. Last year, one offered some NEEDED and on time encouragement that I want to share with you:
"Don't condemn yourself or become affected if a goal/dream does not happen in the time frame you allotted or exactly the way you imagined. Remember, Jesus does exceedingly and abundantly above all we could ask or think! He's unlimited!!! So be very willing to be flexible and open to His change because it could be sooner or later but as long as its Christ then it will totally be worth it!"
Soooo good, right? How many of you are going to add that to your list? I know I did and I encourage you to do so!
So now my goals/dreams list looks something like this: (the things in bold were added after being convicted by what my friend shared)
Don't condemn yourself or become... (see above)
Lose weight
Surrender to the Lord
Take an Improv Class
Write monthly thank you letters
Eph 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us"
Complete that project
Be Open
Write another book
Travel
What God has for me that hasn't been revealed
Laugh more
Find joy in all
Trust the Lord completely
And many more
I actually have over 50 dreams for this year. I even created a separate list of 38 things to complete before my 38th birthday. And I do plan to blog about this!
Solution Focused Goal Setting
I don't just have a list of dreams. It's way too easy to just write a list. I have broken each one down with deadlines, needed resources, room to be flexible, desired outcomes, prayers, how it fits with my calling, and more. I also have daily goals to help. I unintentionally created a whole system with templates and everything lol! Can you tell I'm serious about this year!?
I tend to follow the Solution Focused Method of Goal Setting: "A goal should be the first step rather than the end result" So, my list of 50+ dreams are my end results and my daily/weekly goals are the steps!
But please know that I have even surrendered these plans to the Lord and have asked Him to change them if that is His will. Sometimes too much planning causes us to miss the beauty of flexibility and causes us to put ourselves in the place of the Lord.
We may not know every step to take, which is Ok and sometimes better because this causes us to rely on the Lord rather than self.
Remember to be flexible and open to the Lord! Allow the Lord to guide your dreams. Don't create dreams and ask the Lord to fit. Make sure your dreams are from the Lord and align with what He is guiding you to do.
Oh yeah, and make sure to celebrate those accomplished goals and steps. Don't focus on what you didn't do, but focus on what you did. If you have 10 things you want to do in a day and you do 6 of them--celebrate that! Give praise to the Lord for his guidance, grace, love, comfort, direction, forgiveness and more!
Ok one more thing!
QUESTION: Why are those things on your list?
Many times our goals/dreams are more of a reflection of me than God.
Did you get that? Eeew! That same friend said this one day, I was like OUCH!!
More of a reflection of me, than the Lord. What we often want isn’t what is best for us or what we need. Think of those unanswered prayers…and how life would be if God answered some of them when and the way we wanted. Or think of goals/dreams you had 10 years ago. I wonder what might things be like for you if you would have accomplished everything, then, you wanted. I'm actually still making sure that my dreams are about reflecting the Lord rather than myself.
Really sit in this question/thought.
CAUTION: Please don't get so caught up in your list and accomplishing things that you fail to seek and spend time with the Lord. Remember to be flexible- Life happens. The Lord's plans are so much better than ours even when they don't seem like it!
Happy planning!
Have you ever made a list for a potential mate? If so, check out my article Why I Threw away My List
© Dr. Kristen Guillory and Kristenguillory.com, 2014-2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Dr. Kristen Guillory and kristenguillory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.