Back in the day, we used to sing a song in church that went, “Write the vision. Make it plain.”
Of course, that saying has its own consequential and discerning meaning in the spirit, but it also has a powerful message in the natural realm that as nothing to do with religion.
I’m not a “New Year, New Me” kind of guy. I don’t make resolutions for the new year. I am, however, a firm believer in setting goals for myself. Both short term and long term. And, furthermore, writing those goals down. According to a study done by Dr. Gail Matthews of Dominican University’s Department of Psychology, those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write down their goals.
I started writing my goals down in college. I did it every semester. It is very advantageous for me to write down the exact things I wished to accomplish in that particular season in my life. Especially since there is always A Lot On My Mind (see what I did there), it’s best that I get the important things out of my head and on paper.
Writing your goals down is important so that you can refer back to them. Especially when things are crazy and you feel like you’re going through the motions. Refer back to the list of goals you set out for yourself and use that as motivation work a little harder, run a little longer, study a little more.
Here are my goals for 2016:
- Read my Bible and talk to God more frequently
- Produce more uplifting, exhilarating and entertaining content for ALotOnMyMind
- Share my work with a publication I admire – Blavity, VerySmartBrothas, Black Youth Project, Cocoa Butter, Elite Daily, etc – and hopefully have it published.
- Lose my gut (hehe). Or I should say, get in the best shape of my life. Which includes losing my gut.
- Travel! At least two destinations before December.
- Buy a passport
- Promote and increase traffic into the non-profit I work for – Passages, Inc. Connecting Fathers & Families
- Start paying my student loans back on a more consistent basis (don’t judge me).
- Read at least one book every other month (I only read 5 books last year)
- Gain some confidence
- Make this shmoney (Shoutout to Cardi B).
I hope that everyone reading will also write down their goals for the year. At the end of the year, I will circle back and reflect on what I did and did not achieve for the year so stay tuned!
Peace & light.
Avery Ware 