Possibilities, Not Resolutions (And My 2020 Year Goals)

Are you a goal setter? I’d love to say that I am 100% a goal setter and more importantly, a goal reacher, but… that’s not totally true. I’ve always been one to set “goals” with good intentions, but often lacked strong enough conviction and motivation to actually make them happen. This past year, however, I’ve learned a lot about goals, intentionality, what it takes to succeed, etc. This has inspired me and pushed me to be more committed to the things I truly want to do. To make myself into a goal setter and goal reacher. After all, if I have a dream and I’m not pursuing it, then… I don’t really have a dream, do I?

Let that sink in for a sec.

If we aren’t actively pursuing that thing we say is our dream and purpose in life, then it’s not actually what we say it is. If we really want to do something, we have to pursue it and do everything in our power to meet that goal.

I wish I could say I accomplished everything that I wanted to in 2019. Unfortunately, that’s not true either. I have accomplished some of the goals I set for myself this year, though, with the two big ones being 1.) finally completing from cover to cover, without skipping around, the entire Bible in one year, and 2.) starting this blog! And it feels oh so good! This blog, as I’ve stated before, has been on my to-do list for a long time, and I’ve finally decided that it’s now or never and just done the thing. It’s made me feel more confident in myself, happier and full of fresh purpose. Not that I think I’m just all that, but I know I’m doing something, and there is something so empowering about that.

All of this has inspired me to make more goals that I’ve had for a long time actually happen this year. 2020 is a big year, the start of a new decade, a brand new era. I want to start fresh, begin a new era in my life, as well. I want to put aside my failure to live up to my own expectations, and do the things I know I need and really want to do.

No matter how fired up we are about fulfilling our dreams, we all have to have a game plan to reach that success we’re striving for. I guess that’s where we mess up so often. New Year’s comes and we eagerly “make up our minds” to lose fifty pounds, start waking up extra early to pray for an hour, or accomplish any other well-intentioned goal. We hop into our commitment without a clear plan, and then wonder why a month later our excitement is already gone and we’re right back where we started. One thing I’ve learned is that no goal can be reached without a clear strategy on how to get there. We’ve got to set ourselves up for the best chance of succeeding by figuring out how we are going to accomplish our list of goals.

I’m going to share my personal goals for this year and my plan for how to accomplish them, but first I want to make mention of one more key thing we need to remember as we set our goals. If you haven’t paid attention to anything I’ve said in the paragraphs above, pay attention to this.

At the beginning of 2019, I read a e-newsletter article by the Queen of Christian Fiction herself, Francine Rivers (seriously, if you don’t know who she is, her books are of some of the best of the very best!). In it she talked about how we shouldn’t make a list of New Year’s resolutions, but instead make a list of New Year’s possibilities.

The word “resolutions” is so final, fixed with no room for flexibility. When we resolve to do something, we are saying that we are going to do that thing no matter what. Yes, we need to have that level of commitment to our goals and see them through. But have we ever stopped to think that maybe that resolute goal we’ve set for ourselves isn’t what God wants for us? When we instead think about the things we want to accomplish this year as our New Year’s Possibilities, the things that could happen this year, that leaves more room for us to listen for God’s input and let Him show us what our goals need to be. We can make our list, write down what we want to do and how we can do it, but we must remember that ultimately God should have the final say. We must be open to what He wants to accomplish in our lives this year.

With all this in mind, here is my personal New Year’s Possibilities List, including how I plan to go about accomplishing each of these goals. I’ve even included some extra special goals/news I hope you’ll be excited about (Hint: it’s in the “Writing” section)! I’m trying to be transparent and honest on this so you can see I’m still in the process of growing just like anyone else—plus, having my goals out there so publicly will encourage me to stick with them even when I don’t feel like it!

I encourage you to make your own list that you can look at throughout the year, and I’d love to hear about what goals you’ve chosen in comments, if you’d care to share them with me!

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Spiritual:

1. Grow/strengthen my prayer life!

How to accomplish this:

• Choose a time of day, every day, to spend focused time talking to God for a minimum of 30 min.
• Set a daily reminder on my phone so I don’t forget

2. Complete new year devotional

How to accomplish this:

• Read it every morning at breakfast
• If I miss a day, make sure I double up and catch up quick so I don’t lose focus and abandon it!

3. Do a deeper study of each individual book of the Bible, and learn more of the historical context behind them

How to accomplish this:

• Rewatch the Bible Project videos from my 2019 year devotional, breaking down each book of the Bible
• Use the resources in my Apostilic Study Bible that explain the books and individual verses 
• Keep a journal/notebook of interesting things I read or want to study further
• Read spiritual growth or Biblical study books

Reading:

1. Read at least 50 books (fiction and non-fiction combined)

How to accomplish this:

• Read or listen to at least 3 novels a month
• Read or listen to at least 1 non-fiction (spiritual, leadership, academic/research) book a month
• Read every day on my lunch break, and be intentional about choosing to read rather than being on my phone when I need something to do

Writing:

1. Finish re-editing my book, The Peasant Queen, by the end of January

How to accomplish this:

• Continue on my current editing schedule and do not get sidetracked
• Set reminders a couple days a week to put aside other projects to go edit

2. Publish my book, The Peasant Queen, in the summer!!

How to accomplish this:

• Save or make extra money to go towards the design/formatting work I need done
• Order cover design work from the cover designer I want to work with in February-March
• Pay for the typesetting work in April-May
• Buy my ISBN number 
• Have promo items/graphics made for marketing
• Set monthly reminders to evaluate my progress and remind myself to stay on track
• Prepare launch marketing strategy, influencers/reviewers to work with, giveaway ideas, etc. 

3. Finish writing Book 1 in the new series I am writing by the end of the year!

How to accomplish this:

• Set reminders every day to write, even if I only have time for a few sentences 
• Set weekly or monthly word count or chapter deadlines
• Do writing sprints (a tip I learned from author Kristi Ann Hunter)—setting a timer and writing as fast I can, no research or edits until I’ve finished the sprint
• Be intentional about every writing session, having a plan of what I want to accomplish for that session

4. Get Book 2 ready to start writing by the end of the year

How to accomplish this:

• Finish plotting/brainstorming story, developing the characters and theme
• Make sure I have a clear beginning, middle, and end before I start the writing process 

Marriage:

1. Go out on a real date once a month.

How to accomplish this: 

• Come up with a list of date ideas, mostly cheap or free things we can do at home or out on a Saturday night or Sunday evening
• Mark it in our calendar a month ahead of time so we can plan for it