Your Best Year Ever

Not sure about you, but around this time every year I get to thinking about the next. The new year is fast approaching, and it’s time to evaluate, plan, and set goals. I’m not a natural at this whole process, so in the past few years, I’ve turned to some resources to help me be more productive in the ministry. Over the next four weeks, I’ll give my thoughts on four books that have proved beneficial, each in a particular way.

Your Best Year Ever: A 5-step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt is the “big-picture” book. Hyatt lays out a program for establishing goals and then develops a method for achieving them.

Before diving into his 5-step plan, we’re first challenged to take a “LifeScore Assessment” developed by the author’s company (can be accessed at https://assessments.michaelhyatt.com/lifescore/). The tool guides through evaluation in ten interrelated areas of life. I found this helpful because, probably like many, I tend to focus on setting goals in just a few of the ten, such as my vocation, health, and finances. In reality, though, all ten areas are important, interconnected, and therefore need to be considered.  

With the assessment results in hand, we’re ready to take the first step, “Believe the Possibility.” This isn’t mere “you can do anything you set your mind to” tripe. Instead, Hyatt confronts us with our own self-limiting thinking. He brings out three kinds of limiting beliefs that sabotage our efforts: beliefs about our world, about others, and about ourselves. We’re then shown how to “upgrade” those beliefs so that, instead of undermining our goals, they’ll increase the likelihood of achievement.

From his own personal experience, Hyatt shares a few examples. He used to lament not having enough money, but replaced the limiting belief with “I have all the money I need to meet our obligations, accomplish our goals, and be generous with others.”(49) Now, he admits it wasn’t a magic formula resulting in dollar bills growing on his trees, but it changed his perspective on what constituted a need, obligation, or legitimate goal.

Step two addresses the past. Rather than a strictly forward-thinking approach to goal setting, we must take the past into account. “We can’t just ignore it or wish it away,” Hyatt contends. “Whatever we have experienced over the last twelve months—or even further back—must be addressed.”(67) Here, we’re given a valuable process for doing just that, especially regarding setbacks and failures. The objective is not to wallow in self-pity but to learn and grow. The chapter “Regret Reveals Opportunity” offers a helpful remedy for those stuck by yesterday’s missteps.

A final aspect of dealing with the past concerns gratitude—again, an easily overlooked discipline when we’re geared toward future goals. It’s one I had never thought about in this context. But Hyatt makes the connection by discussing four advantages. First, “gratitude keeps us hopeful.” Next, it “reminds us we have agency.” In other words, we benefited from what others have done because we actually received and acted on it. Third, gratitude “improves our patience.” As we reflect on past blessings, we’re more inclined to plow through difficulties ahead, aware of potential blessings on the other side. Finally, gratitude “expands our possible responses,” moving us into “a place where we’re more resourceful, creative, generous, optimistic, and kind.” (92)

The third step turns toward the future. Often our goals can be nebulous and express more wishful thinking than intentional action. To help craft better goals, Hyatt suggests good goals will satisfy the seven criteria discussed using the acronym SMARTER. A good goal will be

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Risky
• Time-keyed
• Exciting
• Relevant

Goals also can fall into a couple different general categories. Some are achievement goals, such as “I am going to establish a reading plan for 2020 by January 15.” Others are habit goals, such as “I am going to walk at least 2 miles five days per week beginning February 1.” Or, “I will read for a minimum of 30 minutes each evening beginning immediately.” Looking at our list of goals for the next year, we likely need a healthy mix of both. Incidentally, Hyatt warns about going overboard by establishing too many large goals lest you get overwhelmed, recommending no more than 10 for the year.

Step four in the 5-step plan is to “Find Your Why.” Here, Hyatt gets to the matter of motivation for the goals we set. He wisely encourages us to think through and write down three key motivations for each goal. Again, I personally found this helpful because it’s so easily overlooked. I can assume because a worthwhile, noble goal pops into my mind it must be coming from a good place. However, as I got to thinking about some of the goals I’d had in the past, and even achieved, my “why” was rooted in the expectations of others rather than in the conviction that I needed or wanted to do this to fulfill or enhance my calling. If the “why” isn’t right, motivation wanes and achievement is threatened—even if it’s a worthwhile goal.

A further benefit of identifying and writing down our “why” is it helps keep us on track. “People lose their way when they lose their why” (162) rings true and applies in many areas of life, not just our goals.

The final step in achieving Your Best Year Ever is to “Make It Happen.” In this last 3-chapter section of the book, the author focuses on practical matters for following through on our goal intentions. Tackle the easy task first, he suggests, to get some traction. Additionally, set up some triggers that will stimulate action. For example, if you establish the goal of a 30-minute quiet time every morning before breakfast, what triggers do you need to establish so you get up earlier and will be in a good frame of mind? Obvious things like setting the alarm clock come to mind. But other triggers might be programming the coffee pot to come on 10 minutes before the alarm goes off so a cup is ready when you get up…setting out your Bible, pen, and notebook by your favorite chair the night before…and so on.

Another practical tip is to keep goals visible through regular, systematic review. Hyatt recommends taking a couple minutes daily to skim through your written list of goals. Then, once a week he suggests taking a bit more time to reconnect with each goal by reviewing motivations, to review progress over the last seven days, and to consider action steps to be taken in the next week. Scheduling a similar process once a quarter will ensure that our goals are entrenched in our minds and hearts.

Personally, I’ve found resources from Michael Hyatt’s company to be quite helpful. This particular book integrates well with The Full Focus Planner, which I’ve been using for a couple years. But the advice, principles, and tools in Your Best Year Ever stand alone as profitable guidance for establishing goals and enhancing a meaningful life.

About the author (from the book cover):

“Michael Hyatt is the founder and CEO of Michael Hyatt & Company, a leadership development firm specializing in transformative live events, workshops, and digital and physical planning tools. Formerly chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Michael is also a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of several books, including Living Forward and Platform.…Michael has been married to his wife Gail for thirty-nine years. They have five daughters, three sons-in-law, and eight grandchildren. They live just outside Nashville, Tennessee.”