I love the dawning of a new year.

A new year presents an opportunity to start afresh, to make things that might have gone wrong the previous year right, to reevaluate my priorities, and to dream again.

As human beings, we need hope to make the next step, and the next, and the next. A new year helps awaken in us the hope that all is not lost. We have another opportunity to rise and be all that God intends us to be.

This is why towards the end of the year and the beginning of the next year, I like to do a reset of my goals, ensuring I begin the year on the right footing.

I’m sharing our proven 7 steps to coming up with our goals for the year. I trust these steps will come in handy, not only in making goals this new year but at any other time of year.

Let’s get right into the steps.

Taking Time for Prayer and Reflection

God is the creator of all things. He created you and I.

The Scriptures reveal that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph.2:9)

God knows what I should be doing in a given time and season of life long before I step into that particular season.

How do I know this? The verse above tells me that he prepared me to do good works well in advance.

For me to come up with effective goals that will work for the year, I must pray and trust God to lead.

I must trust him to show me what it is he has ordained for me to do that season or year so I can plan accordingly towards accomplishing it.

One of my goals in the new year is to write a spiritual foundations book.

Part of my calling in the Lord is to walk with younger believers in a discipleship process so that they might mature in their faith.

When my husband and I, together with our fellow workers took time to pray and fast in anticipation of the coming season, as we discussed the way forward, God laid on our hearts his will for us to develop a new material for younger believers to help establish them in their spiritual foundation.

This is why this naturally became one of my goals in 2024

I have seen Christians, churches, and organizations take time to pray and fast each new year, as they look to God to lead them into his fruitfulness during the year.

The ministry we serve with takes this time of prayer and fasting just before we hit the holiday season. We find it more effective to do it this way so that we can enter the new year with clarity and understanding of our assignment from the Lord.

Building on what was already working the previous year

As a new year or season unfolds, we will often find ourselves joining the craze of setting new year goals because everyone seems to be doing this.

We even abandon what seems to have worked the previous season in a bid to begin on a new slate. Sometimes it’s just the desire to try something new.

I don’t think setting new goals is about starting from scratch. It is more about building on a system that is already working to make it even more fruitful.

Taking time off, even when it’s just an hour or a few hours, can provide the opportunity to look at your previous goals, sift through them, keep the goals that worked, tweak those that look like they could work, and find out why others didn’t before coming up with a new set of goals.

One of my goals each year is to read the Bible cover to cover by the end of the year. My system has worked thus far and I’m grateful to God for this.

To try another way of doing this, perhaps chronologically rather than page by page would need very careful consideration now that I already have a system that’s working to help me achieve the goal of finishing reading the Bible at the end of the year.

Some of my goals, especially my spiritual goals rarely change, especially if they are already working just fine for me.

What is already working serves as an encouragement to know that you’ve made progress in the past year and chances are you will in the new year.

Being Careful not to set resolutions but goals

I’ve heard enough of the resolutions setting game each passing year to know that it will often not work.

Many people set resolutions in January. By the end of the year’s first quarter, they are frustrated. Most of these will have abandoned their resolutions by this time.

Resolutions have in them the attractive element of a foreseeable outcome almost instantaneously while ignoring the process that goes into achieving the outcome.

Goals on the other hand are about seeing a desired outcome and journeying toward it. Goals then are the little stepping stones towards achieving the outcome.

One of my goals in the new year is to have established a discipleship class for young women at a neighboring campus.

While a New Year resolution will tend to tie this goal to the beginning of the year, a goal allows me the time and space to plan my next move toward ensuring I achieve this goal before the end of the year.

Acquiring a new habit for instance is not a quick fix that is done because of personal resolve.

This might have worked for a minority. For the majority of us, willpower and resolve alone will not work. Goals are what will give feet to a resolution, together with what I’m about to share in the next two points, to help me acquire a new habit, or start doing something as a way of life.

Setting SMART Goals

When I was a younger Christian, I used to wonder why I wasn’t like some of the Christian women I knew who were making a significant impact in their generation.

Did God have favorites? Well, I knew the answer to this question. I however couldn’t help wondering whether he had. Why wasn’t he using me in a “big” way?

It wasn’t until an older woman who became a mentor to me began walking with me. I soon learned to set specific goals for my spiritual growth: I was going to daily read my Bible, write down what I was learning, and commit to obey God by writing what I would do and then do it. She kept me accountable too. I committed to regular fasting and prayer as well.

It wasn’t long before I began to see myself impact others in real ways. Gone were my musings as to whether I was fruitful or not.

What exactly had changed? I simply set SMART spiritual goals that led to transformation, which led to opportunities to be a blessing… and the ripple effect continues as I commit to my goals.

This explains why I’m big on setting SMART goals. I’ve been a beneficiary of this exercise.

Recently my young daughters (10 and 15 years old) and I set on outlining our goals for the new year. I kept reminding them to set specific goals.

For instance, I would tell our oldest: Don’t just say you’ll finish reading the Bible in one year. That’s general. Tell me how many chapters you’ll read each day and when will you read, to achieve your goal.

Because SMART is an acronym, let me go through it using the above broad goal of completing one round of Bible reading by the end of the year. Is this goal…

Specific? So far, yes, especially if the larger goal is to grow closer to God, or to grow spiritually, or to grow in character.

What about…

Measurable? Not yet. The goal is too broad. I need to state how I’ll do it, working with actual figures or numbers. What about saying, I’ll read 4 chapters every Monday to Wednesday, and then 3 chapters from Thursday to Sunday? (By the way, this pattern has worked for me each year, often leaving me with several days before the year ends to read even fewer chapters, knowing too that December tends to be engaging.

Let’s go on. Is my goal…

Achievable? Reading 3 to 4 chapters a day is achievable for most of us. It might however be challenging for others. You want to ensure you’re setting a goal you can achieve each day, except for a once-in-a-while exception. Ensure your goal is something you can practically do and attain.

What of…

Realistic? I don’t think it would be realistic for our 10-year-old to read 3 to 4 chapters every morning. In my view, the reading would be a lot for her. I’m not sure she would effectively get insights to help her apply the Bible in her life practically.

To be realistic means taking into account all factors that might affect the implementation of a goal and then setting the goal in light of these.

Finally, is my goal…

Time-bound? In our case, our goal is time-bound. We want to finish reading the Bible in one year.

This means setting a period, or deadline for the goals you’re setting as to when you want to see them achieved and then working towards that. Without this, it will be difficult to determine the success or failure of your goal.

Without the next point I’m sharing though, it will be very difficult to achieve your goals or have the sustaining power to keep going.

Having in Place an Accountability Structure that Works

An accountability structure is simply a system you deliberately put in place to help you achieve the goals you have set.

Usually, this structure involves a person or people you intentionally permit to help you do what you said you’d do.

This can take the form of a reminder, working on the goal together so you can achieve it, encouraging you when you feel like giving up, and just walking alongside you to help you remember why you are working on the goal.

Human beings are social beings. We’ve also been created in such a way that we need each other. None of us has all it takes to achieve our goals. We’re also gifted differently.

Submitting to an accountability structure is simply having the humility to acknowledge that others must be part of my journey for me to be successful.

Being accountable to others has been very helpful in my journey of achieving my goals each year.

My husband is one of those accountability partners. Our spiritual goals are the same. we keep each other accountable, encouraging each other to keep at our goals. God has helped us to achieve them each year.

We have a team we work with. This past year they each completed their Bible round by the end of the year. We were keeping each other accountable. I’m not sure this would have happened for all of us if we were not keeping each other accountable.

Find someone who can help you as an accountability partner. If it’s a friend, let this friend be one who can tell you the truth and one who can be firm with you, gently and firmly nudging you towards accomplishing your goals.

Letting your goals fit within your calling

Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God has created each of us for a purpose, having called us who belong to him to go and make disciples. He has also uniquely gifted each of us to fulfill what he has called us to do.

Getting to discover God’s will about what he has called us to do is key. This post here will help you discover what God has specifically called you to do.

Key to getting my goals achieved is ensuring they align with what God has called me to do.

A big motivation for achieving my goals is when I know they are serving a higher God-ordained purpose here on earth.

For instance, if God has called you to reach the less privileged, having given you the gift of mercy, your goals might center around raising finances to meet their needs or working on a structure to sustainably reach them, as you ensure you’re setting SMART goals towards achieving this.

My calling from God is towards ministry to women. One of my goals, now that I’m a busy homeschooling mom is to run at least 4 cohorts this year, where I take women through biblical womanhood classes based on Proverbs 31. Each cohort runs for 3 & ½ months.

As much as walking with women isn’t easy, I love seeing what God is doing in their lives to bring transformation. The likelihood of working towards achieving this goal is high because it’s part of my calling from the Lord.

Writing down your goals and having them in a place where you can constantly see them

As I write this point, Habakkuk 2:2-3 comes to mind:

“Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

The prophet was told to write down what he’d received from the Lord. A herald, or whoever would read it, would run with it.

We’re human. We tend to forget. I may have wonderful goals to achieve in the new year. If I don’t write them down, I’ll forget them within the first month.

I may even write them down. If I don’t take the next step of putting them in a place I can constantly see them, chances of not keeping up with them are very high. I will soon forget I was working on those goals.

Write down your goals. Pin them somewhere; perhaps near your bed, or at your desk, or a place you know you’ll see them often. This will serve as a gentle reminder to keep ensuring you’re working on your goals.

I trust this is something you can do, however simplistic, to help you achieve your goals this new year.

How to Set Goals and Achieve Them in 2024| Our 7-Step Guide That Works

Taking Time for Prayer and Reflection

Building on what was already working the previous year

Being Careful not to set resolutions but goals

Setting SMART Goals

Having in Place an Accountability Structure that Works

Letting your goals fit within your calling

Writing down your goals and having them in a place where you can constantly see them

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