Below is a post I wrote almost six years ago - on the first day of school back in 2013. As I was re-reading, I realized that this is exactly how I’m feeling now - I CAN’T WAIT FOR SUMMER TO BE OVER! And it’s not just because I’m a party-pooper and the “fun police” as my kids call me, it’s because I see the value of structure, routine and SYSTEMS! And as I’m prepping for my second message in our latest series, STARTING SMALL, I thought this post would be the perfect lead in to prime the pump for Sunday. Enjoy!
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What Are You Going to Look Like in Five Years?
Recently I found some old pictures of myself from my younger days – my pre-priesthood/pre-marriage days. Nothing is more fun than looking through those old pictures (especially with your kids who think the world wasn’t created until they came into being) and remembering what life was life back in the good days of the late 1990s (aka, the Stone Ages for all you younger pups).
Things were so different back then. Life was slower and simpler. We used to "chat" with our mouths, not our keyboards. We used to play outside and drink from the hose and we all lived to tell about it. We used to read newspapers and magazines and books! And get this…back in the 90s, MTV actually played music!!!!
Times certainly have changed quite a bit since then. But as much as the world has changed in 20 years, the thing that struck me the most from those old pictures is how much I HAD CHANGED.
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2018: I’m Going Back to Analog!
If you're finding your goals on life support as well, I believe there are two possible reasons why. Your problem lies either in the process of SETTING GOALS, or in the process of FOLLOWING UP with your goals.
I’ve written before about how I personally set goals each year. I have a specific process that I’ve been using for the past 4-5 years and it works great for me. But what I want to share today is the process I’m using to FOLLOW UP with those goals – which is equally as important and might be the reason you find yourself falling short.
The main change in my 2018 plan is that I’M GOING BACK TO ANALOG! I’m using a “paper and pen” system to follow up with my goals.
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Why I Now Journal Every Day
We're coming to the end of another year and if you want to make the coming year special, NOW is the time to start planning for it! How? Believe it or not, the key to looking ahead is actually to start by looking back.
I've come to the conclusion that for me, the key to setting effective goals in the new year is to start by evaluating how things went in the prior one.
In other words, I don't start with "where do I want to go in 2018"? I start with "what happened in 2017?"
Why? Because you must PROCESS YOUR PAST before PLANNING YOUR FUTURE.
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How I Set My Goals for 2017
“Everyone ends up somewhere, but not everyone ends up somewhere on purpose.”
That’s a sentence that I heard several years ago and it’s stuck with me ever since. Of all the fears in life that I have (airplanes, pushy salespeople, being stuck on airplanes with pushy salespeople), my greatest fear is getting to the end of my life and realizing that I missed out on what God had in store for my life.
The regret is too much for me to swallow. The feeling of “I missed out” on what God had planned for me or for my family or for my church drives me to be very intentional about the way I live my life and plan for each year.
I don’t want to just end up somewhere; I want to end up somewhere on purpose.
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Where Will You Be At the End of 2014?
One week into 2014 and by now, statistics say that 60% of New Year’s resolutions have already been abandoned. And by the end of January, that total will reach almost 90%! WOW!
But it doesn’t have to be that way – at least not for you. You don’t have to be part of the 90%. You can make 2014 different. Believe me, I struggle with New Year’s resolutions just as much as the next person and I don’t claim to have any secret tricks to make it any easier. But I have discovered some helpful hints throughout the years that have helped me stay on track.
The most important concept/idea to keep in mind is this (this is a good one to post above your desk or somewhere prominent):
We all end up somewhere, but few people end up somewhere on purpose.
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