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Author Apostolos Trechantinis

Goal setting is a “customary” habit of the last days of each year, even for those who proceed in life without a plan. Whether by conscious choice or by “custom,” it is good in any case to engage in the process of setting new goals.
And here is where the biggest mistake occurs: The absence of evaluation and self-criticism is the recipe for failure. If you do not evaluate yesterday, you cannot envision tomorrow. Who you would like to be tomorrow is known to you. Who you are up to today is seen by others. It is no coincidence that people who simply observe you from a distance, seeing your journey so far, can predict your future steps of success or failure. It is a natural progression of things. Unless incredible things happen.

Every new success requires a sacrifice. And the ratio is not always 1 to 1. A success, depending on its size and weight, may require a series of sacrifices. But look back and see. What did you leave behind to get here? What did you sacrifice to be where you are today?
Perhaps you did not sacrifice your sleep and insatiable rest and today you are in a dire position:
Proverbs 6:9-11 How long will you sleep, sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep; then your poverty comes like a messenger, and your want like an armed man.

Perhaps, for example, you sacrificed morality and the principles of the Gospel to achieve a comfortable life during your sojourn on earth:
Jeremiah 22:13 Woe to him who builds his house not with justice, and his upper rooms not with uprightness; who uses his neighbor’s work without wages, and does not give him the reward of his labor;

And I can tell you many other examples…

The evaluation should ideally be frequent and periodic. Daily, weekly, monthly, annually, and even more. Just like the goals. How would you like to be, for example, in 10 years?

Second and bigger mistake: You decide alone, because “only you know yourself” so well.

Years flow like water. Today you must decide whether to chase your “dreams,” gaining heaps of “bravos” and plastic “social” compliments from others, or to kneel before God the Father, who created you, loved you, and discuss with Him about your life.

Decide whether you will trust Him to lead you on His path, perhaps with fewer praises and less acceptance and recognition, but with a full, abundant, and secure life for you, your family, and others who will approach you and seek some relief from the heat of life, under the shade of love that God will have built in your life. Focus on the eternal and not the temporary. On the true and not the false.

Leave behind a fragrance of blessed life, unfolded through the infinite wisdom and plans of God. Become a point of reference for your children, your community, and future generations. And not just another person who passed through Earth, chasing “his own dream” and then disappeared and was easily forgotten.
True joy is to live within God’s purposes, not occasionally, but every day.
Psalm 20:4 May the Lord grant you according to your heart and fulfill all your plans!

Happy New Year!