2021 Goals Setting Goals for 2021 Blog

Let’s chat about our 2021 goals. Admittedly, I’m not much of a New Years Resolutioner. I think resolutions are hard because you expect yourself to eliminate or completely change a specific behavior once the clock strikes midnight on January 1.

Habits don’t form overnight so why do we expect to break them overnight? When we can’t stick to the resolution, there’s little grace for ourselves so we quit all together until next December 31 when we resolve to change that thing again. I think it keeps people stuck, so I don’t do them.

I do, however, make goals for each year. How is that different? I’m so glad you asked.

Goals are more fluid.

While resolutions come with a “do or don’t” mentality, goals are more fluid. If my goal is to read the Bible in a year, I can set short-term goals to make that happen. I can find a plan to keep me on track. There’s not a right or wrong or a yes or a no.

Goals are more positive.

While long term goals may be lofty, short term goals should be easy to reach. When we meet that short term goal, we’re motivated to make another one and another one until we’ve met our long term goal. If you don’t meet a short-term goal you didn’t fail- you just re-assess and see how you can meet it another way. There’s no guilt, no “breaking” of anything. It’s just a learning process.

What are my 2021 Goals?

I need to lower my expectations.

This sounds really sad, but it’s not. I have super high expectations for myself and that bleeds into my family life. These high expectations not only cause me anxiety but they can easily impact the people around me. I will still expect kindness to others, obedience from my daughter, and the things that are kind of par for course, but I need to let go of perfection. My house will not always be clean. My daughter will get playdough in the carpet. I will include a typo in an Instagram caption. Life is meant to be lived, not obsessed over.

Healthy Habits

I need to make sure I am creating healthy habits that can be maintained. I the past, I’ve made resolutions to exercise 30 minutes every day or eat paleo or whatever. Realistically, neither of those things fit my lifestyle, and failing at them led to unhealthy habits whether it be restricting food or binging on it. What I need to do, instead, is slowly create habits that are maintainable long-term. I also need to readjust my “why.” In the past, it’s been my weight or what I look like. Now, I want to create maintainable healthy habits because I have a daughter who watches me and I want to be around for awhile. I want her to have a healthy relationship with food that I didn’t have when I was younger so if my being a good example will help then I want to do that.

Put God first.

Last and most importantly, I want to work on putting God first, always. This is something I am constantly working on because it can be really hard when sin is our nature. I want to be intentional in my decision making and make sure that what I do reflects Him always. Whether it’s things I say or things I do, I want to make sure it’s a reflection of Christ.