I’ve found that there are two types of people: those who set goals and those who don’t. In the vernacular of writers: the plotters and the pantsers – those who plot out the story before they start writing, versus those who “fly by the seat of their pants.” They just start writing and trust that the story is going to write itself.
Did Jesus Have Plans and Goals?
So, was Jesus a plotter, or a pantser? The short answer is, both. Jesus seemed to be an interesting mix between the two. Which tells me that there is no right or wrong way – it’s just a matter of what works for you.
Jesus could debate with the best of his day — he had a quick and sharp mind. Jesus could think on his feet. He didn’t need notes to articulate his vision. He could “fly by the seat of his pants.”
But, Jesus also had a plan. He had goals. He knew his life mission (Mk. 1:38; 10:45; Jn. 10:10).
Jesus taught his disciples to be prepared. He told several parables warning them about the devastating effects of being ill-prepared (Mt. 25:10). He implored them to be vigilant with their faith (Mt. 26:41). He advised them to count the cost before becoming one of his disciples (Lk. 9:23).
Jesus said to his disciples:
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” (Lk. 14:28).
What I have discovered is that the Holy Spirit speaks to me in the hours I devote to planning just as clearly as he does in the momentous flash of inspiration. In other words, the plotters are following the leading of the Holy Spirit just as surely as are the pantsers. And Jesus was both.
There is a way for you to plan your year and still leave plenty of room for creative flurries of “flying by the seat of your pants.”
My Eight-Step Process for Setting Annual Goals
Here is my basic system. It’s not by any means the only way to do it. Nor is it necessarily the best. It works for me because I need simple and flexible. You actually need to leave at least a week to complete the list, giving yourself some reflection time from day to day.
1. Pray
I can’t emphasize this enough. It starts here and prayer should saturate every step. The desire is that each goal is something that pleases God and fits within His plan for your life.
2. Write down my one life mission.
This doesn’t change from year to year. But I still write it down so that I’ll have it at the forefront of my mind as I contemplate the goals God wants me to reach for in the next 12 months.
3. Write down everything I want to accomplish in the next calendar year.
This is meant to be a brain dump — everything and anything that comes to your mind. Nothing is too crazy or impossible. You’ll get realistic later — so write everything.
I divide my goals into two categories: personal and professional. I try to balance the two but frankly usually end up with more professional goals than personal.
This process could take several days. Let the list sit for a day, and then come back and write more. God will use this time to speak to you because you are processing and reflecting both on your life mission and all the things you need to accomplish to get there.
I also make a note of which goals are achievement goals and which are habit goals. Achievement goals can be easily measured and have an end date (i.e. losing x number of pounds by a certain date, increasing sales by x number of dollars by the end of the first quarter, etc.). Habit goals may be measurable but have no end date and are meant to form a certain desirable habit or discipline (i.e., exercise three times per week, get to sleep by 11 pm every night, etc.).
This list should be substantially more than ten goals.
4. Reduce my list to those that serve my life mission.
I then ask two questions of each goal: (1) Can this goal be synthesized with another goal on my list; and (2) Will this goal or habit help me get closer to my life mission? And how? If I can answer in the affirmative I keep it on the list (for now).
Keep in mind that some of these goals may contribute to my life mission in secondary and not immediately obvious ways. For instance, losing weight may be an essential goal because I know that hitting my life mission will take another 20 years. If I find myself 20 pounds overweight I may not make it another 20 years. Therefore, losing 20 pounds is an important step in reaching my life mission. Take time to think it through.
5. Let the list sit for a while – more prayer.
Don’t skip this step! The Holy Spirit will speak to you as you pray through the list. The Holy Spirit may lead you to delete some and possibly add some new ones. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
6. Reduce my list to between seven and ten goals.
At this point, all the goals on your list should be exciting to you because they are steps to fulfilling your life mission. However, you must get your list to fewer than ten. I try to get my list down to seven. More than ten is not manageable and you set yourself up for failure.
I ask two questions at this point: (1) Which of these goals are most pressing; and (2) Which of these goals excite me the most. I can usually get my list down to seven.
7. Decide how I will reward myself when I complete each goal.
It’s called a little extra incentive — and it works!
8. Keep the list visible in my calendar planner.
This is about execution. I keep the goals in front of me every week. I break each goal down into ten to twenty actionable steps. Those steps become my weekly and monthly goals. The key is that every week I have actionable items that I am completing that are directly related to my written goals.
Execution of your annual goals is another multi-step process — maybe for another blog post!
Well, that’s my system for setting annual goals. I hope it’s helpful.
