How to look back at your 2023 goals without feeling like a bum

You didn't finish everything - so what?

Did anyone start 2023 with a list of goals? 🙋‍♂️

I started wrapping up the year by looking at my 2023 goals that I set for this year. And Man! I was kind of disappointed at how much I didn't finish everything.

But then I realized that's not the goal of setting goals. It wasn't so that at the end of the year I would feel disappointed.

I know maybe some of you guys would be looking at what you thought you would do this year and would have the same feeling.

How do you look back at your 2023 goals without feeling like a big disappointment or failure?

Let me give you a few ideas.

Even partial success is success

I remember a pastor who taught me that he always sets Bible reading goals. And he never finishes one hundred percent.

It was asked of him “How do you manage not finishing a hundred percent?”

He said something profound:

He said 80% better than 0%
50% is better than 0%
Even 10% is better than 0%!!

His point is that people who set out to do something and fail still end up doing more than people didn't even set out anything to begin with.

He said look at the bright side I read 80% more Bible. Isn't that amazing?

Sometimes it's just a perspective shift from thinking about all the things we didn't do as failure to realizing that the things we did, even though Little, are still significant.

If you finished all your goals, you dreamed too small

If we finished all our goals, maybe we think that is success.

Actually, I think that it's just an indicator that perhaps we are dreaming too small.

A principle in my life is that I always want my ambitions to be greater than my ability to execute them.

I find that this posture is one that God is looking for on the earth. He's looking for people that can do and imagine doing things larger than they could ever dream of.

The implication is that those people will always have goals that they cannot meet.

But I find this stretching exercise to be a reflection of how daring my heart is. And I think that is a really good posture to have.

Be of courage if you don't finish all your goals because that means you dreamed big!

And if you're reading this and you are finishing all your goals this year, maybe make them more stretchy next year 😊

You’re not a bum

Remember that as you look back at your 2023 goals.

We are not defined by how much we finish of our goals.

But I hope these perspective shifts are helpful as you reflect on this year and think about all that happened and all that you did and didn't do.

You are made for greatness,
Phil