2016 = 365 Opportunities

Calendar from printablecalendars.com

As writers, I trust we’ve set writing goals for 2016. Even though we have 365 days to accomplish them, I find that goals are tricky things. It seems that we either set them too low or too high, depending on our mood. It’s hard to find a balance between underachieving and being unrealistically aggressive. Low goals allow us to meander through our days without stress, but also without satisfaction. High goals can be equally dissatisfying when they are unattainable and thereby frustrate us.

A helpful goal-setting acronym is S.M.A.R.T. goals, meaning goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. This is a useful guide to follow, but I want to suggest another component of goal-setting - one that is critical, but often ignored. It is simply to move our focus away from what we want to accomplish and ask God what He wants to do through us. 

While it's good to set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely, let’s hold those goals loosely. If God points us down another path or asks us to redirect our energies, let’s do so willingly. Psalm 37:5-6 offers us His wisdom for goal-setting:

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

As we work toward our goals for 2016, let’s commit our way to the Lord and trust in Him. He will do what the verses say and make our righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of our cause like the noonday sun. He will use us for the benefit of His kingdom in ways we could not anticipate.

Take home thought: I will set my goals prayerfully, committing my way to God, trusting that He will cause me to shine in righteousness.

This is the meditation from the January 2, 2016, meeting. 

Reminding you to write for Him, Barbara