Don’t Give Up on Your New Year’s Goals

I am an Achiever on Strength Finders Assessment, and Eight on the Enneagram, and a flaming Red when discussing temperaments. It is in my DNA to set new goals and resolve to make great changes at the start of the year. It is also in my DNA to doggedly chase success and unrelentingly pursue whatever the goal I have set before me. But if I am being truly honest, my goals are almost never realistic, and if they are, they will not be easy to achieve. While I might be a little more hardcore than most people, I am not alone in taking the opportunity for a restart at the beginning of the new year.

One phenomenon, dubbed the “fresh start effect,” suggests that the new year may be a good moment to make resolutions and changes, because it can act as a “temporal landmark” that gives people a renewed commitment to goals.¹

But what happens when we fail to stick to our goals? What do you do when you miss a day of Bible reading or walking, or when you eat that leftover Christmas chocolate and then follow a downward spiral all day?

43% of all people expect to fail before February, and almost one out of four quit within the first week of setting their New Year’s resolution. Most people quit before the end of January, and only 9% see their resolutions through until succession.²

Achievement and setbacks can be equally as effective.

Most of us tend to beat ourselves up when we fail, and very few of us can experience a setback and jump right back on the horse. But what if you could lean into God’s love for you, dust yourself off, and start again? This week, we have some thoughts to encourage you in your New Year’s reset.

1. Allow yourself the grace to not be perfect. In our post Thoughts on Allowing Ourselves Grace, we share how God provides us with the grace of unconditional love. God is generous with us; He is forgiving and accepting of our imperfections. If God will do all this for us, why can’t we do the same for ourselves?
2. You do not have to be perfect to pursue your goals. In our Parenting Pathway Podcast: Pursuit of Purpose we are reminded that pursuit of any goal, there are setbacks and obstacles to overcome. Resilience, or the ability to bounce back from setbacks, is essential for achieving our goals.
3. God invites us to start new every day.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23

The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah. Within this book, Jeremiah expresses his sorrow for the condition of his country, but also his hope for God’s mercy to be shown again. The book gives hope for those who choose to follow Him. Because you have fresh mercy every morning, you can renew your commitment every day. Regardless of the mistakes or bad decisions you may have made, you can begin each day with a clean slate. There is mercy to help you overcome the poor choices of yesterday.

So today, I am dusting off my knees where I tripped over my resolution to achieve my goals for 2023, and I want to share with you the hope and grace of leaning into the arms of Christ. God wants the best for us and delights in providing the path to achieve that. Gratitude in my failure and gratitude in my attempts to succeed are both blessings for my heavenly father.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalms 37:4