Change the World?

As we bid farewell to 2023, echoing sentiments like "Change the world" and "Leave your mark" charge the atmosphere of 2024. But what if changing the world wasn't the goal? Most of us cannot change the world, and that's okay. It doesn't make the past year or the next, or your life a failure.

And besides that, the previous year always has a strange habit of trying to jump back onto the stage and into the spotlight: What happened to the goals set at the beginning of the year? Unpleasant as it may be, the urge to swiftly move on to declarations about the transformative nature of 2024 should be a put on hold for just a second. Rather than fixating on how next year will be different, it's time to introspect.

#Goals

The pressure to meet societal expectations and compare our goals with others can skew our perception of success. "Leave your mark" need not imply something magnificent; it can celebrate kindness and personal growth. Success isn't solely a monumental feat that the world celebrates (albeit for only about 11 minutes of the news cycle) but the small steps toward becoming a better person. Were the goals even reasonable? Who and what influenced you to select those goals? Did achieving them give you the reward you were expecting? Would achieving them have actually made you happy?

What would make your life 10% better this year? What is a simple and reasonable improvement you can pursue all year long? How would that make your daily or weekly life any better? Even if no one else knew about it, would it make you happier, healthier, and/or wealthier? It does not matter if it is an impressive goal to others, it is your life and your 365 days of living. What do you want and need?

Reflecting on any unmet goals from the past should not be seen as failures, per se. You gotta aim at something. But life's journey is filled with detours and unexpected challenges, and resilience in navigating them is a triumph in itself. Learn from it, and if the goal was worth pursuing once, maybe it is worth pursuing again. This time you’ll be better for it because of what happened last year.

As we step into 2024, let’s do our best to not get swept up in powerful, well-financed messages of what our life should look like. Liberating ourselves from the comparison game allows for authentic goals and a life well-lived measured in connection, reality, and authenticity.

Also, do your best to not allow moments and experiences in the past to keep you locked into the same frustrating cycles. Maybe the goal should simply be to develop a strategy to begin changing. Redefine success not as a fixed destination but a continuous journey. The calendar pages are going to continue flipping. Any goals should be made with that understanding.

In the not-so-grand and usually very private theater of life, let your role be proportionate to who God made you to be. Think and pray on that for a while. Daily, actually. And as 2024 unfolds, anticipate the unexpected, savor achieved goals, and embrace the uncharted paths ahead. Be intentional. Life's essence is not found in changing the “world” but in the depth of connection, the lessons learned, and the authenticity maintained with the people and community immediately around you.

Start there. Who knows? Maybe God is preparing you to change the world next year.