I feel like generally there are two types of people. Those who hate the idea of setting New Year’s goals and those who love setting goals, but quickly break them before the end of January and forget what they were by December. I think that's because too often we put such high expectations on the New Year, and we set goals that are vague, surface level, and unattainable. 

A few years ago I discovered a new way of looking at the new year. It’s a year-end review worksheet. It involves first looking back at the previous year and all of the things that happened. Then looking forward, setting goals, and writing down ideas of what might happen in the coming year. There are specific categories like, “Books I Read/Plan to Read” and “Ways I Gave Back/Plan to Give Back”. For me, this is a game changer. I have a starting point, instead of sitting down with a blank piece of paper. It also has a “Theme” section, which summarizes the previous year and the upcoming year into a single phrase or sentence. 

It's interesting to look back on my worksheet from last year and see where I was dead-on and where maybe things turned out a little different than I planned. These are the kind of "goals" where it's ok if we don't meet them. We have hopes and dreams for a bright new year, but sometimes God has different plans for us. And sometimes His plans are even better than we can imagine. But I still think it's good for the soul to write down what's in our heart. This worksheet can serve as a guide for the upcoming year, and it can be a filter you use to make decisions. I also encourage you to share this with a loved one. I’ve found that when I read these to my husband, Shay, it helps us get on the same page (pun intended). Click the button below to download the PDF. Happy New Year!