I have so much fun writing out my goals for the following year. I am basically planning my entire life for the following year. Fishing trips, hunting trips, bicycle trips, visit kids trips, building projects, ministry projects and plans, learning goals, writing, and a bunch more. There are 365 little squares on my calendar and 24 hours each day, so I spend my hours on paper. I often counsel people on their finances and tell them to spend their money on paper, which is a budget, before spending it in real life. In finance, the budget ensures balance and responsible spending if they stick with the plan. Goals do the same. Balance is a significant reason I set goals. There is my family life, my ministry, my personal walk with God, my hobbies, my adventures, my physical home and its maintenance, my exercise, and my new adventures. As I write goals, calculate costs in money and time, add them up, rewrite, juggle, adjust, and recalculate, after a while, I arrive at what I consider the perfect plan for my life. While I am thinking and planning, I am constantly praying, asking God for wisdom and guidance, and seeking His will for my life.

One of the things that I know for sure because of years of experience in writing and pursuing my goals is that many things will change as I go through the year. I present my goals to the Lord on my birthday as my commitment to Him to bear much fruit for His glory. I pray, “Dear Lord, this is what I believe is Your will for my life, and I present it to You now. I know I have missed some things, so I am open to any additions, subtractions, and changes You may want to make, but in the meantime, I am moving full steam ahead in faith.

Many people don’t write goals. There are many reasons given, but with most, it is the fear of failing. Once we write goals, we have defined what success is for ourselves, and we would like to keep that fuzzy. People who write goals have more energy, passion, enthusiasm, fun, accomplish more, and have much more control over their own lives. This is an excellent time to write goals for 2025; you can do it.