How to Create a Personal Growth Plan for 2021
Did you make New Year’s resolutions for 2021? Are you on track or have you decided to chunk them into the trash with the leftover pizza?
Don’t get me wrong, I am not negative about this yearly “Resolution Ritual,” but I want to suggest a better approach. I wrote this blog a couple of years ago and it seemed to resonate because it became one of my most read blogs. I have updated it and offer it as a long-term solution for Getting from Desire to Discipline.
Planning is vital to success in life. Few people become successful by accident; it happens because we have a goal and passion for that goal. Leaders around the world utilize organizational tools, seminars and personal coaches to accomplish those goals. So, what about our spiritual success?
By spiritual success I am not purporting a “health, wealth and self-philosophy”: I am talking about Biblical success as defined in Joshua 1:8. The passage clearly challenges the people to meditate on and obey the Word of God.
Joshua’s insistence on “meditating day and night” suggests more than a casual perusal of the scriptures. Although reading the Bible is personally enriching, the challenge is to meditate so we can obey.
As we set our family, physical, financial and personal goals for 2021 let’s not overlook the spiritual realm. What are your spiritual goals for 2021? In fact, have you created a personal growth plan for the coming year? Have you thought about your goals? It is not too late.
Tweet ThisJ. Oswald Sanders said in his book Enjoying Intimacy with God: “A successful fruitful ministry does not just happen -it is purchased. It cannot be paid in a lump sum; we pay for it in gradually increasing installments. There is no such thing as a cheap, fruitful ministry.”
Several years ago, I began selecting a yearly spiritual theme which has proven to be a tremendous personal blessing. For example, some of my past themes have been prayer, God’s attributes, practicing His presence, and worship. This does not mean I think about these concepts to the exclusion of others. What it means is that it is my thematic focus for the year.
Having a theme guides my Bible study, scripture memory and reading. I do not necessarily think about it every day. It simply ebbs and flows as I do life. My biblical values are established and do not change but some of the long-term or short-term goals may change yearly based on the yearly theme. This is also true of other values like the physical or family where my goals are adjusted each year.
I want to challenge you to try the concept of “Creating a Personal Growth Plan” for 2021. I have created a “Free” downloadable tool explaining how to create your own personal growth plan. This document includes:
- Instructions on how to create your personal plan
- Examples of a personal plan
- Templates for creating your own personal plan
- Bibliography of recommended books
You can download the plan by going to my website, mikecalhoun.org then clicking on Resources, Free Downloads, and then Beyond the Status Quo, Getting from Desire to Discipline.
I along with many others use this as tool for discipleship. I personally have each person I disciple create their growth plan. Then because I am committed to Reproducing Reproducers, I have them use it with someone they disciple. As I said above, it is not too late to begin using this tool. Why not take some steps to get from Desire to Discipline for 2021?
