{"id":1806,"date":"2014-01-07T17:42:08","date_gmt":"2014-01-07T23:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=1806"},"modified":"2014-01-07T20:45:21","modified_gmt":"2014-01-08T02:45:21","slug":"this-year-has-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2014\/01\/this-year-has-goals.html","title":{"rendered":"This Year Has Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In my last post of 2013<\/a> I talked about how setting a high-level theme for the year has worked better for me than detailed goals or the traditional New Year\u2019s resolutions.<\/p>\n

Several years ago I stopped making New Year\u2019s resolutions.\u00a0 I found I rarely kept them, mostly because the goals I set weren\u2019t in alignment with my true will.\u00a0 I resolved to accomplish things I thought I was supposed to want, and I set goals with little regard to my desire (and in some cases, my ability) to actually do the things that would be required to achieve them.<\/p>\n

Instead, each year I select a theme \u2013 a high-level goal I want to keep in the front of my mind all year.\u00a0 My theme is a destination I want to make progress towards, not detailed travel instructions on how to get there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This approach has been helpful because it\u2019s kept me open.\u00a0 Too often we think success has to look like this or that, when in reality success can take many forms.\u00a0 A theme for the year was easy to remember, meaning everyday decisions were made with that theme in mind. \u00a0The theme reminded me of what I\u00a0 really want to do, making it easier to walk away from distractions that look enticing but aren\u2019t part of my true will.<\/p>\n

This approach wouldn\u2019t have worked ten years ago \u2013 I hadn\u2019t built a stable spiritual foundation.\u00a0 For 2013 I didn\u2019t need to set a goal for daily prayers \u2013 they\u2019re already part of my life.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t need to set a goal to exercise regularly \u2013 it\u2019s a part of my life.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t need to set a goal to write regularly \u2013 it\u2019s a part of my life.<\/p>\n

There are other spiritual practices that aren\u2019t a regular part of my life and could benefit from goal setting, but these were enough of a foundation to allow me to make good progress with my yearly theme during each of the past three years.<\/p>\n

But just when I think I\u2019ve got it all figured out, when I think I\u2019ve found The Way, I start getting the message that it\u2019s time to do things differently.<\/p>\n

This year needs goals.<\/p>\n

The need for goals became apparent when I was doing my formal review of 2013.\u00a0 In several areas, I wrote something that can be boiled down to \u201cthis is OK for now but it\u2019s going to need further attention before too long.\u201d\u00a0 Perhaps it would be more accurate to say \u201cwhat I\u2019m doing now won\u2019t support the life I\u2019m building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through a combination of good fortune, hard work, careful decisions, and the grace of the gods, I have a life I\u2019m happy with.\u00a0 The foundations I\u2019ve built \u2013 spiritual, physical, financial, relational, academic \u2013 support this life.\u00a0 But I haven\u2019t arrived.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t reached the mountaintop.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t learned and done all I want to do and be.\u00a0 I\u2019m not burned out.\u00a0 Fill in your own clich\u00e9 for smug satisfaction or exhausted resignation \u2013 or for blissful contentment.\u00a0 I\u2019m not there.\u00a0 I\u2019m called to learn and be and do more<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A year and a half ago I wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The most I\u2019ve ever been allowed to see is the next steps down the path. Want to know what\u2019s on the other side of that hill? Climb it. Don\u2019t want to commit to the climb without knowing whether there\u2019s treasure or a bare field or a nest of dragons on the other side? Hope you like this valley \u2013 you\u2019re going to be here a while.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>So I climbed the hill.\u00a0 And now I can see what\u2019s coming next.\u00a0 And I like it. \u00a0But my current foundation won\u2019t support what\u2019s coming.\u00a0 If I want to get to where I want to be I\u2019m going to have to build a stronger foundation.<\/p>\n

This year needs goals.\u00a0 This year needs magic.<\/p>\n

Thorn Coyle\u2019s last book Make Magic of Your Life<\/a><\/em> details a magical process based on the Four Powers of the Sphinx, sometimes called the Witch\u2019s Pyramid:\u00a0 to Know, to Will, to Dare, and to Keep Silence.\u00a0 As I discussed in the book review, this process isn\u2019t flashy or mystical or mysterious.\u00a0 It just works.<\/p>\n

I know who I am, what I am, and most relevantly for this, where I am.\u00a0 I know what I want to be and do, what I\u2019m called to do and be.\u00a0 I have the desire.<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m called to be is important enough for me to be persistent in doing what is necessary.<\/p>\n

And so I dare to risk hardship and to risk failure in order to manifest the changes I need.<\/p>\n

The silence leaves room for mystery, for things to follow the theme in ways I\u2019m not expecting even though I\u2019ve got a pretty clear picture of where I\u2019m going.<\/p>\n

There is a time and place for proclaiming your desires to the world, but this isn\u2019t one of them.\u00a0 Suffice it to say I have four goals for 2014.\u00a0 Three of them consist of putting my house in order and one consists of making significant and tangible progress toward a life-long dream.<\/p>\n

My no-goals approach has been so successful I now need to set goals.\u00a0 If that sounds like some kind of koan of self-helpism it\u2019s really not.\u00a0 It comes from being committed to a vision and responsive to a call.\u00a0 It comes from keeping what works and discarding what doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 It comes from not letting the perfect get in the way of the good, but also from not letting the good get in the way of the better.\u00a0 It comes from a commitment to excellence<\/a>, a commitment to learning and growing so I can be of greater service.<\/p>\n

My divination skills are so-so \u2013 I can\u2019t tell if 2014 is going to be an easy year or a hard year, a pleasant year or a painful year.\u00a0 But I\u2019m committed to making it a good year.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I select a theme for each year. My no-goals approach has been successful, so now I need to set goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":1807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[249,250,4,5,10,46],"class_list":["post-1806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice","tag-goals","tag-new-years-resolutions","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-spiritual-practice","tag-thorn-coyle"],"yoast_head":"\nThis Year Has Goals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Instead of making New Year's resolutions, I select a theme for each year. 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