Why do our New Year’s resolutions fail? Year after year, we begin with enthusiasm to make this THE year to read through the whole Bible, get fit, or even take up tap dancing.
What seems so do-able at the start, within a few weeks has become a dim memory.
Many of these goals are things that would enable us to develop resilience and sustainability in ministry and life. Things like good rest, keeping fit or having a hobby all develop our wellbeing and help us serve Jesus wholeheartedly for a lifetime of ministry.
So what makes them stick? Here are some simple steps to make these goals last throughout the year…
Step 1: Begin with prayer
Begin the process by spending time in prayer, talking to God about the last year. You could prayerfully reflect on questions like:
- What went well last year? Any areas of strength or growth to give thanks to God?
- Where were the stress points last year? Were there times when you felt overstretched or run down? What was the cause of that?
- Looking to the year ahead and what is planned, what might be good areas to focus some attention on? How might you grow in Christlikeness this year?
Step 2: Start with a ‘who’ goal
Instead of starting with what you’ll do, start with who, under God, you’re praying you’ll be in the future. This is outcome thinking done at an individual level.
Is it to be a person who is healthy? Who has good friendships outside church? Or someone who has depth in their prayer life?
The SPEAR model
I find the SPEAR model really helpful. From memory I originally learnt this from a Youthworks talk as a model used for their Year 13 program.
It’s memorable, easy to share with others, and can be used regularly to do a health check for yourself in key well-being areas:
S – Spiritual – this includes Bible reading and prayer, confession of sin, growth in Christ-likeness
P – Physical – rest, diet, exercise, sleep and holidays
E – Emotional – knowing yourself better and your hurts, habits and hang ups, areas of stress, burnout, and mental health.
A – Academic / learning / hobby – can include ongoing learning, professional development, professional networks or hobbies
R – Relational – with family, friends, colleagues, teams or your church community, developing your emotional intelligence, and addressing relational stress including conflict.
Here are mine for this year. A person who is…
These are outcomes which last longer than the next 12 months. And they outlast any bad day you might have where you sabotage your goals – like eating a big slice of pav at your aunt’s birthday party 😀
Step 3: Choose a habit for each ‘who’
Now that you have your ‘who’ goal for each area, it’s time to choose a habit. This is the KEY to turning a great idea into reality.
A habit is a repeatable practice that builds over time. This is where the regular, real work happens to make progress towards the person you are prayerfully becoming.
They don’t have to be extraordinary (no need for marathons or reading 100 books this year!) Here are the habits I’ve set up for this year:
S – An hour each day in Bible reading and prayer, using an accessible commentary alongside my Bible reading, and using Tim Keller’s Meditation method for prayer
P – An hour of exercise most days, including strength training. Regularly drinking water throughout the day.
E – Regularly connecting with three female friends. Putting in my diary a monthly games night, and long weekend away with my family and a larger group of friends.
A – Writing ½ an hour each day at lunchtime and a longer time on a Saturday afternoon, and doing a writing sprint together with a writing buddy once a week.
R – Having a devotional time for our family that works for teenagers with busy lives.
Starting with the overall ‘who’ goal means I can switch up the habit at any time. Strength training becomes dance classes, or a weekly writing sprint becomes a monthly day of writing.
Step 4: Don’t skip this step
While I love this model, it can be possible to fill it out and not give any attention to character. I’d encourage you to choose one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) to focus on for the year.
Perhaps it’s becoming someone who is more loving, joyful, patient or kind. Is there an area you struggled with over the last year that you could include in your plans for the year ahead?
Step 5: Make them stick
1. Find space in your diary
A habit will only stick when it has a regular space in your diary that doesn’t get moved. That might mean setting your morning alarm ½ an hour earlier, or trying some different options until one really works.
I’ve noticed with my goals for this year, it’s taken a while to find a spot that works for the writing habit, and so I’m seeing much less progress. So, each week I’ll try something new until I land it.
2. Make them visible
Give yourself prompts that remind you to do your regular habits. A water bottle on your desk, an alarm on your phone, the Bible on your dining table, or your exercise clothes in an obvious spot each morning.
Placing the list of ‘who’ goals and habits in a place you regularly see (a bathroom mirror or next to your desk) keeps them regularly in your mind.
3. Make them fun
Whatever you can do to make your habits fun will help in sticking to the plan. Find a buddy to connect with, or an exercise routine that makes you laugh, or choosing Sodastream and ice cubes instead of plain drinking water.
Even an app that celebrates every time you complete a task. All of these things will keep you motivated on a day when you’re struggling!
4. Revisit them regularly
Annual goals aren’t just ‘set and forget’. Have a monthly or quarterly review time in your diary.
This will ensure you give thanks to God and celebrate any progress, and notice ones that have fallen off your list, tweaking your habits as needed.
Over to you
Take some time to write out your own ‘who’ goals and habits for this year, including ways to make them visible, fun and regularly reviewed.
I’ve focused on individual goals. But how might you develop some goals with your team this year?
Together you could brainstorm how you’d like to see your team or ministry grow in areas such as building a bring-vitation culture in your youth group, a deeper prayer life together in your serving team, or a growth group that encourages one another to read the Bible during the week.
After brainstorming your ‘who’ goals, come up with the habits you will put in place together to make it happen.
Ideally, you would set these goals on an annual basis during the last quarter of the year. But anytime is a good time to start!
Every day is an opportunity to build stronger well-being to set you up for a lifetime of serving Jesus wholeheartedly.
This material forms one part of a session on Resilient Leadership in the Reach Australia Development Programs.
The intensives, coaching and consults over two years develop leaders who are theologically driven, evangelistically urgent, practically skilled, spiritually vibrant, emotionally resilient and wholehearted followers of Jesus.
If you’d like to grow in your leadership this year, why not join one of the cohorts for this two year program?
For senior pastors – Join the Leadership Development Program
For teams and team members – Join the Team Development Program
