Goals

January Workspace. (c) 2017 Jason Couture.

At the start of a new year we feel a renewed energy, or maybe just a new sense of urgency, to list and accomplish things we want to be true: we want to be better eaters, better exercisers, better readers, better parents, better spouses, better people. We list all the ways we will be better this year. Our resolutions are essentially a list of all the ways we have fallen short of our ideal selves. If we're honest, by February, the list we made on New Years is of all the ways we will continue to fall short. 

Out of all the things I could put on my list, I have only committed to two: read the Bible daily and finally write and publish a blog. 

One week in and I'm off to a good start. I selected the 5 Day Bible Reading Program (the link goes to a .pdf). This particular plan doesn't require reading on the weekend, and I already benefitted from this on Sunday, January 1. 

On the first morning, I got the Bible off the shelf, grabbed a pen and a new notebook, and sat down. Then, I realized something as I thought back on the process of getting the day's reading done. I not only need to commit to reading, but I must also commit to clearing a place and a time to read. In order to complete this goal, I must be prepared to commit to the entire process. 

Like many of you, when I woke up on Monday there were kids and bills and email and unfinished work already waiting for me. The table I wanted to read on was cluttered with projects from yesterday and for the days ahead: stacks of paper, piles of books, collections of pens, and plenty of little gifts left by my kids as they come in and out of my workspace. I had to physically move the clutter and clear a space. I had to ask my wife to help with the kids. I had to put down the phone and the iPad and the laptop. This process, physically moving things and clearing away the clutter in order to make a space to read and to complete my goal for the day, was just as important as the goal itself. 

I must push pause in order to move forward.

I have always viewed goals as singular items on a list. That morning, I realized if I am going to accomplish my goals I need to see how they are related to the other facets of my life. Committing to a goal means I must commit to the entire process of completing that goal. I must be prepared to clear a space, to deal with distractions, and to pause my concern with all the other things that beg for my attention. Some of these attention-seekers are external and vocal (my children), and some are internal and habitual, like my concern with keeping a neat, organized workspace. The children require outside help and planning, like asking Kelly for help and/or getting them set up with food and activities in hopes of buying myself enough time to read. The internal, mental distractions are more difficult to overcome: I must convince myself that reading on a cluttered desk in order to accomplish my goal is more important than organizing the accumulation of stuff. If I followed my instinct, I would have spent my time on Monday morning restacking papers, shelving books, and shuffling through the buildup, and the Bible would have never opened. Maybe the toys would have found their way back to the play room. Since this goal is important, I paused my instinct, shelved the anxiety about the disorganization, and pushed the piles aside for the time being and read on a cluttered desk. The mess can wait. 

Success comes from renewing my commitment daily.

Committing to a goal means committing to the process and the mental change needed to accomplish that goal. These commitments must be renewed daily. In order to read, I must move aside the things that stand in the way of reading. In order to write, I have to be willing to stop doing something else. I also have to plan for how my goals will affect others: the lives of my wife and my children don't stop because I'm working toward my goals. For success, I will need their support, and the best way to get their support is to make sure time focused on my goals doesn't negatively affect them. These realizations may be obvious to some of you but they became clear for me as I relearned these lessons while moving aside piles and stacks in order to make room for this years' goals. 

There are so many resources and articles on accomplishing goals. They seem to be required reading in magazines, blogs and newsletters this time of year. The best advice I've seen this year is from Shawn Blanc, who suggested that, instead of tackling our entire list of goals, we start small and start simple. When I consider all the variables that must be considered and addressed in order to accomplish even one goal, the advice to begin slowly and keep things simple is very wise. 

I am excited to begin this year. I'm very glad our culture continues to place importance on the beginning of a new year. Taking time to review the past and plan for the future because we turn the page of a calendar can be appear arbitrary, but it can also be helpful to know that we are joining with millions of people intentionally setting goals and trying to prepare for a better future by learning from the past. 

So, welcome to my little space of the internet. I invite you to read the other introductory posts and the About section to learn what I hope to accomplish by writing here. I will say this: I'm a bit concerned that the topics covered may initially appear chaotic--the more writing I've done this week the more things I've become interested in writing about. I have a feeling that particular themes and regular topics will emerge over time. I look forward to connecting with more people and engaging in the communities I've been following for the past couple years. Thank you for reading and Happy New Year!

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If you're interested in more about Bible Reading for the year, here are some resources:

[  ] More information on the plan I chose.

[  ] A variety of plans for 2017.