A Better Way to Reach Your Goals This Year

It’s that time again where everyone is setting goals and making plans for the new year.

As a pastor, my biggest frustration with setting goals is that I feel pressured to set result-oriented goals.

• I will grow the attendance by 10% by the end of the year.
• I will recruit ten new volunteers for the such and such ministry.
• I will raise X number of dollars for the building project/missions trip/church debt reduction.

At the end of the year, the elders or your boss will hold you accountable for achieving these goals.

And if you don’t hit the goals, it can result in a bad performance review or even losing your job

Glad there’s no stress there.

But the scariest thing about these goals is that we have zero control over whether we hit the numbers.

After all, Paul reminds us:

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7 ESV).

Who brings the growth? Paul says it twice in case we didn’t get it the first time. It’s God!

Maybe you have felt this same frustration. People hold you accountable for the growth of your ministry, but there is only so much you can do.

You aren’t God.

God brings the growth. All we can do is water the field and plant the seeds.

So what should you do?

I want to propose an alternative to results-oriented goals.

Habit-Oriented Goal Setting

A goal is not a bad thing. It’s just a dream with a deadline. It is good for you to dream about a preferred future.

It is good for you to dream about a preferred future.

Pastors need a vision of what the future of their ministry will look like.

But with that future destination in mind, we need to focus on the steps it will take to get there.

Every long journey is a made up of a thousand tiny steps.

Just as reaching a destination requires small progress by putting one foot in front of the other, reaching your goal is possible by performing one small habit after the another.

Try this. Take the goals you would typically set (or have already set), and think of a small habit that would increase the likelihood of achieving that future reality.

For example, instead of just setting a goal to grow by 10%, you could make a goal to invite someone in the community to your church every day. You could pray for growth every morning. You could meet weekly with a group of key influencers in your church to challenge and teach them to be more evangelistic.

Maybe you have a goal to recruit more volunteers in your church. Instead of setting a goal to recruit 20 more leaders, you could make a habit of meeting with a church member every week for coffee. Then, you can get to know them better and encourage them to serve where they fit best.

This is still goal setting, but it’s focusing on a small action instead of a large result. Instead of setting an outrageous goal that you have no ability to control the outcome, set a goal of performing small habits that you can control.

If you do that simple habit every day, or every week, over the course of a year it will greatly increase the chances of achieving your desired result.

It’s just like the farming analogy that Paul used. If you want to grow crops, you need to make a habit to water the field.

You cannot force growth, but you can make a habit.

What if instead of being evaluated for a result-oriented goal, you were evaluated for a habit-oriented goal?

What Goals Do You Want to Achieve This Year?

Maybe you want to grow your church, lose 30 pounds, pray more, get out of debt, or improve your marriage.

Whatever it is, go ahead and have a goal. But focus on small habits. Build tiny habits that could lead to big results over time.

Here is an example of some of the habits I am focusing on this year:

1. I want to be healthier, more energetic, and a few pounds lighter. So I am going to do a 7 Minute Workout every morning. One short workout won’t do much, but seven minutes of intense exercise a day for a year is enough to whip my lazy rear into shape
2. I want to keep writing this blog and publish two books in 2017. So I am going to write 500 words every day—about 30 minutes of writing. One page of 500 words won’t do much, but in 90 days that’s the first draft of a book.
3. I want to read through the Bible again this year—like I do every year. So I am going to take a fresh approach and read the new ESV Reader’s Bible for 10 minutes first thing in the morning. Ten minutes reading the Bible won’t get far, but 10 minutes a day for a year is plenty of time to read God’s Word cover to cover.

These small habits do not take much effort to do, but I can guarantee that my life will improve this year if I do them.

Also, I often find that the hardest part is getting started. It’s a lot easier to start a 7-minute workout than a 60-minute workout. Plus, once I get started, I find that I often do more than my minimum daily goal. 500 words

Plus, once I get started, I find that I often do more than my minimum daily goal. My 500 words become 1,000. 7 minutes of exercise becomes 15.

So, what goals do you want to accomplish this year?

Don’t focus on results. Focus on habits that lead to results.