It’s amazing how a town can be transformed from grey and dusty to vibrant and beautiful with a fresh layer of black tar.
Over this past year, my community repaved practically every street in town. No more dodging potholes! No more wondering where the lines are! No more with just the status quo road…it’s a new road!
The turn of the New Year is equivalent to getting fresh pavement. We get to start over on a new and fresh road. On December 31st, we rev our engines and draw ourselves a new starting line. Then we are off to the races starting on January 1st.
New resolutions, a faster pace, and a new energy towards personal aspirations. Our boundary lines are clearly defined and we can get more done.
We all do it…it is hard not to be sucked into the calendar landmark! But we also know the excitement is short-lived. By February we are all dealing with greyer roads that lack boundaries.
Our goals will crash and burn into the ditch of life. What gives? Should we even set goals at the start of the year? In short, the answer is YES! But it does not mean it has to look like the rest of the world.
Because we fail miserably at new diet plans, running that half-marathon, or losing 20 pounds, doesn’t mean we can’t attempt new feats! A few of us will actually get there while the 96% of the world “parks their aspirations“.
If you want to be part of the 4% that gets it right this New Year, follow this framework.
Look Under the Hood
The initial reason for setting a goal typically has multiple layers. For example, if you are striving for a promotion, you most likely want to make more money…but it doesn’t stop there. That promotion could advance your career, bring financial security to you and your family, or perhaps will bring validation to the work that you do.
At the heart of the issue, the external goal of making more money is fantastic, but don’t neglect the internal and psychological goals that are related to sustainable contentment. If validation from others is what you are seeking, the promotion may not be the right goal. Being authentic to your core purpose in life may be the better goal. It’s your choice but do the deeper work.
Knowing the root cause of why you are launching a new goal will protect you from going off course 3 weeks into the plan. Like a light on the dashboard, it’s just an indicator of something happening under the hood.
Wait on Cranking Your Car
January 1 marks a new year, but it does not mean you have to launch with the rest of the world. If you’re an entrepreneur, your clock and calendar work by your own rules. Use the start of the year to do strategic planning. Take advantage of the world going back to work and visit a place that is typically overcrowded to get your creative juices going and gain clarity. If your new goals don’t start until January 15th, own it! It is better to start with clarity 2 weeks later than driving into the dense fog.
Put Your Family in the Front Seat
In our ordinary daily work, it’s easy to say yes to new clients, partnerships, or lucrative financial endeavors. But part of finding balance is to not let business neglect your other priorities…starting with the family.
Before setting career goals, set your life goals. Get away on a retreat at the start of the year with your spouse and utilize the time to lock in your big pillar spots on the calendar for birthdays, vacations, sabbaticals, or just rest days. Choose your aspirational lifestyle and build boundaries around it.
Choose your rhythms around work, and goals for the home (physically and family), and lock them in. This strategic plan then becomes the GPS guide that will keep you from detouring off the road when the rat race sneaks into your inbox and calendars!
Just Drive! Pot Holes Will Happen
We live in a fallen world that will be redeemed. God is certainly good and graceful! Therefore, we should give ourselves grace.
We will fall, we will fail, and we will run over potholes…we aren’t perfect. God would love for us to have a heart for him in all that we do! Our value, identity, and gifts are given to us by God…therefore we don’t need the world to try to change this narrative.
Don’t forget to reflect on the past year on all that has been accomplished and where God has blessed you. Seek thanks and gratitude in all of this. Keep going, keep driving. Make God your daily mechanic and you will be ok!
So as January brings fresh pavement into our lives, let us take our time to gain perspective, prioritize the most important factors, and have a little grace for ourselves, and for others.
