Year End Assessment
By Drew Hunt
What do you think of when you hear the words “New Year’s Resolution”?
For me, it sets off a flood of FOMO over what didn’t get done.
And if I’m not careful it can actually become a cloud that hangs over the joy of this season.
We live in a culture of microwave expectations but life is a crockpot reality. We want everything to happen right now, which is why the “new year, new me” resolutions don’t usually last.
So what if we try a different way this year that aims toward an unmanufactured pace of grace? We implement measurable goals because goals are the framework for how we give intention to our days. But done in a healthy, life giving way.
So as we wrap up the year, I want to challenge you to start this project on paper somewhere, maybe in your journal between now and the new year.
This is an exercise borrowed from Pastor Chris Hodges, We’ve adapted it slightly but the credit goes to him…
The point of this project is NOT to beat ourselves up or judge ourselves for not doing enough or better. It’s to highlight what’s working and apply more of that into the next chapter of our life.
Think about the most important areas of your life; personally I break these down into about 10 buckets; and what you can do is first LOVINGLY think about how you would grade yourself in each of these areas from the last year.
Ready, set, go…
Relationship with God: spent time with Him?
Relationships with other humans: partner, family, friends, etc; how much time have I intentionally spent with other and been present there?
Job: whether you’re in an office, own a business, manage a home,you’re a student-> am I spending a healthy amount of time there and do i have a good attitude while I'm there? How do I treat those around me?
Digital life: social media scrolling, netflixing; how has that served me? This is more about who we’re following and shows we're taking in…Has it added to my life and made me kinder, more loving or taken away, leaving me feeling frustrated, less than, dark?
Finances: how am I stewarding my money? How generous am I? Am I stuck in a loop of buying stuff I don't need? Do I think before I spend? Am I saving/investing/sharing?
Ministry: am I using my gifts to love others and love God?
Attitude: how do I treat others? Do I try to lead more with enthusiasm and joy?
Emotional life: what’s my thinking like? How’s my mindset? What have I been surrounding my mind with?
Creativity: dreams, plans, visions; have I been paying any attention to those?
Physical life: how am I treating my body? Eating? Exercising?
Now that you have your buckets and the good stuff you’ve seen and brought to life this year, we want to think about how we can make some of these things better.
To do that, here's the last part of this exercise: I want you to ask yourself these 5 questions:
What’s my life’s purpose? In other words, what was I put here to do? What vision do I have for my life and ask God what vision HE has for it and see if they match up? I LOVE the verse from Colossians that says “everything got started in God and finds its purpose in God”; basically, you have to go to the manufacturer if you want to find out how the thing is made
Is the way I’m doing life helping me accomplish number 1?
How do I measure that? So I’d recommend keeping these bucket items somewhere that you can check them often; posted on a message board in your house, in your journal and set a reminder once a quarter to take a look throughout the year just to do a check in and say “how’s it going?”
What are my values? What matters to me most? Write those things down. For me, it’s God, people, operating with excellence and living with joy; so is the culture of our life lining up with that stuff?
What needs attention right now? Meaning if I can make an improvement here, everything else in my life right now improves too.
Again it’s a lifestyle of purpose which means it stretches way beyond a 365 day calendar year.
We’re called to live mission minded, from a place of victory.
Because our time here is about more than just us. Who we’re becoming today will shape the generations coming behind us and echo into eternity.
So no matter what this year looked like for you; maybe it was a great year, maybe it was one of the hardest.Either way, we’re moving forward in HOPE because we know we’re here for more than to just eat, sleep, survive!
We were created for this specific point in time by a God who wants to move us FORWARD. To give us hope and plans for a future, to help us flourish, to give us courage, He’s made us more than conquerors of the things that hold us back by gifting us with His PRESENCE through the power of His Spirit to lead, guide and encourage us.
And He’s invited us to partner with Him on making an impact in this world.
I hope this holiday and new year season is your best yet.
Remember to stop and pause, be present, remember you’re doing great and ask God to help sync your heart with His.
It will all get done. Remember why we celebrate this season in the first place.
Wishing you so much love, joy, peace and FUN!
