Determining What Goals Need to Take Root in 2020
Welcome back to the Give Life in 2020 Planning Series! If you’re just now joining us, you can checkout Part 1 & Part 2 before diving into today’s post.
When it comes time to setting goals for a new year, it can feel a bit daunting.
- Where do I start?
- What sort of goals should I set?
- How do I even choose what to focus on for an entire year?
These are all good questions, and today we’re going to talk about how to choose what to focus on in 2020.
Today we’re focusing on the Gaining Clarity for the Year Ahead pages in your 2020 Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner, as well as how to Choose a Word for 2020.
Don’t have your 2020 Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner yet? No worries! Click here to get your copy, then come back here and start with Part 1 of the series. I’ll be here waiting when you catch up. 🙂
If you’ve been following the Give Life in 2020 Planning series, you’ve already spent time praying and worshiping and writing down what you experienced during that time on your 2020 Brainstorm pages.
You’ve spent a lot of time reflecting and writing about all the ways the Lord has met you in 2019.
Now we’re going to start pulling all this information together and start uncovering your focus in 2020.
I told you yesterday that evaluation is an important part of being intentional, but you can’t stop there. It’s not enough to simply uncover the sticking points. You want to do something about it!
Pull out the Gaining Clarity for the Year Ahead page in your 2020 Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner.
After evaluating 2019, now’s the time to declare what are you going to be saying, “Yes!” to in 2020 and what you are going to be saying, “No!” to in 2020.
You’re also going to do a bit of dreaming.
If you’re not naturally inclined to positive thinking, this might be hard for you, but go ahead and humor me. Even if this feels awkward to you, it’s an important step.
Close your eyes and imagine how you want to feel at the end of 2020? If you could envision your best year yet, what would it look like?
Don’t rush this step.
Then, write down what you envisioned in your 2020 Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner.
Now, look back over everything you’ve written in your 2020 Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner so far.
Go all the way back to your 2020 Brainstorm pages.
Re-read what you have written.
- What stands out to you?
- Are there any common themes woven throughout your planning pages?
- Is there something you kept writing over and over?
I know there is.
What was it?
Write down what stood out to you the most from everything you’ve scrawled out on these 2020 planning pages.
You can use page 2 of your Gaining Clarity for 2020 planning page in your Seasonal Goal Planner.
That theme you found?
That’s what needs to root down in the marrow of your soul in 2020.
Every year that I walk through the exercise of journaling about the previous year, answering questions about my spiritual life, and just praying for what God has for me in the new year, a theme always seems to emerge.
A certain character trait I need to work on.
A particular relationship I need to focus on.
An area I need to learn more about.
Throughout our Christian lives, there will be many seeds of faith sown into the soil of our souls.
But like Jesus taught in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, not all seeds are going to fall on fertile ground.
During this time of reflection, I like to imagine that I’m picking up a seed out of the rocky soil, and intentionally planting it into the fertile soil of my willing heart.
Then like the little boy in the sweet picture book, The Carrot Seed, I’m going to put all of my energy into seeing that seed bear fruit.
I’m going to plant the seed.
Water the seed.
Weed the ground around that seed.
I’m going to feed the soil from time-to-time.
I’m going to put a hedge of protection over the seed when frost comes or a storm threatens to beat it down.
This is the seed I’m sowing and nurturing so that it can root down deep and bear fruit according to its kind.
Perhaps this metaphor is a bit much for you, but I can simplify it this way.
The Devil is out to destroy your faith.
He’s on the hunt for weak women.
But you? You aren’t going to be one of those women.
You’re going to choose one thing to focus on in 2020.
You’re going to make it your main thing. Your one thing. Your one area of intentional effort.
You’re going to nurture this area of your life with the goal of seeing it bear fruit in 2020.
I have found that choosing a word for the year is very helpful in keeping me focused all year long. It’s the one thing I really want to throw myself into.
In 2019 my word was INVEST.
Everything I wrote in my Seasonal Goal Planner for 2019 kept pointing to the need to be intentional about making investments in things unseen for future benefit.
Words like “go deeper” and “more meaningful” and “slow down” kept popping up in my planning pages as I reflected and prayed over the year.
So, INVEST was my focus for 2019.
Every goal I set flowed from this one word.
Maybe you need to write out a few words that are coming to mind for you right now.
Jot them down.
Look up the definition for these words. Write down their synonyms.
Sit with these words for a bit.
Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into your One Word for 2020.
He’ll lead you. I promise.
Then, write that One Word for 2020 at the bottom of your One Word planning page in your 2020 Seasonal Goal Planner.
Tomorrow, we’ll work on setting goals for 2020. We’ll take this One Word focus and turn it into actionable goals to help you grow deep roots in this area in 2020.
You can checkout all the posts in the Give Life in 2020 Planning Series below:
- Day 1: How to Get Started With Your Goals in 2020 here.
- Day 2: The Secret to Actually Achieving Your Goals in 2020
- Day 4: Choosing Goals to Focus on in 2020
- Day 5: How to Make a Goal Action Plan in 2020
Don’t have your 2020 Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner yet? Now is a perfect time to change that! Click here to get your Seasonal Goal Planner, and then come back here and finish the series with your planner in hand. Not sure if you the Seasonal Goal Planner is for you? Not worries, click here to get all the details.